Sorry not sorry: this is a gluten post.

If you watch Last Week with John Oliver you'll have heard him diagnose the changing times of the country: "We have iPads, Twitter, maxi-pads with wings, and everyone is allergic to bread."

I'm from southern California. I know fad diets, but I feel like there's a misconception that anyone concerned with gluten-free beer is necessarily a Gwyneth Paltrow disciple.

Well, I'm pretty much a garbage eating monster and I am all about that gluten-free beer life. If you have a glycoprotein sensitivity, allergy, or dietary restriction these breweries have got your back.

Also more good news - among the first gluten-free breweries, Ghostfish Brewing Company recently opened in Washington state, and their tagline reads, "BARLEY HAS RULED THE BREWING WORLD LONG ENOUGH!" While considered a niche market, gluten-free beer makes a world of difference for those who can't typically enjoy the world of amazing craft brews:

It's a game-changer for customers like Ward Yohe."I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease about two years ago and I thought this was off the list," he said, sipping a beer in the Ghostfish taproom. "It was like recapturing something I thought was gone."

Fortunately Ghostfish isn't alone. Alpine Brewing has followed suit and "significantly reduced" gluten content in their beers while Portland's Omission Beer is churning out craft brews made with malted barley that's been processed to drasticlaly reduce though not completely remove gluten content. The somewhat legendary Mikkeler has also concocted a number of gluten-free beers that I'd love to get my hands on.

Yesterday Huffington Post also compiled a ranking of the best and worst gluten-free beers on the market with Brunehaut Organic Amber Ale chosen as the best contender. Sorghum, rice, and grains that might otherwise be considered adjuncts, can actually replace barley malt and wheat with relative ease and produce a different character of beer that is bound to attract craft beer fans with no dietary restrictions at all. Rye beers are recognized and sought out for their distinctive spicy an sometimes tart flavors, so why not millet and buckhwheat beers? Dogfish Head's cider-esque Tweasonale is brewed with sorghum syrup, buckweat honey, and fruit. Element Brewing's Plasma "sake-IPA" is, as the name suggests, brewed with rice.

It's likely that the brewing of beer developed independently in multiple parts of the world. The diversity of grains that have gone into beer-like fermented drinks make "beer" a rather broad term - no less appropriate for fermented maize or sorghum drinks than for barley ones. The demand for different grains in craft beer creates room for even more room for brewers to get creative.

In the spirit of experimentation I think the brewing of gluten-free beer should be considered an interesting challenge and it's making craft beer that much more inclusive.

Stone Delicious IPA photo from Joe Satran/Huffpo.

#barley #sorghum #rice #gluten #dogfishhead