With a daughter who is a coeliac (and who often liked to taste the beers) we have a sympathy for those people who have gluten as an enemy. Many of Europe’s ‘gluten free’ beers start life as a normal glutenised beer, but then had a special enzyme added which eats up the gluten to leave it effectively gluten free.
While we can’t market them as ‘gluten free’ in Australia (they must be labelled as ‘gluten reduced’), the effect of the enzyme is to reduce the gluten content to less than 3 parts per million.
This beer is labelled as an American Bitter, though since the rebrand it has been called a sessional pale ale. Either way there is a dose of fruity hops in the aroma, and a very solid hop bitterness to the taste. The beer is fairly light bodied, with a little fruity sweetness early on, giving way to the dry lingering bitterness.
I’ve tasted both the normal Karel, as well as this gluten free version, and I don’t really notice much difference between them. It’s a decent beer in its own right, but it must be a real treat for any gluten-affected beer lovers.
An IPA featuring a bevy of different hops, with a big caramel malt body
A sort of Belgian style strong blonde ale, made using unsold sourdough bread
A rich, spice winter beer is just the thing to warm up on a cold winters night
A Vermont Pale Ale - a really soft, juicy and very easy-drinking beer
'Tess' is a White White Saison - a farmhouse ale fermented on Pinot Grigio white wine barrels and hopped with Hallertau Blanc hops
An oatmeal stout with a rich, creamy and luxurious chocolatey flavour
