Best Gluten Free Beer by Gluten Free Dave
Dave Stuber is your gluten-free guy if you’re looking for an expert on gluten-free beer! Dave has been on my show twice and creates many of his travels based around visiting gluten-free breweries. Dave is a fun, down-to-earth guy who knows his gluten-free food! Check out and follow Dave on Instagram to learn more about gluten-free beer and food! And thank you, Dave, for writing this excellent guest post on gluten-free beer.
Read on for the low-down on gluten-free beer! Thank you Dave!
Can You Drink Beer if You’re Gluten Free?
When I went gluten-free six years ago, I thought I’d never be able to enjoy a beer again. About a year later, while ordering dinner at a restaurant in Estes Park, CO, the server asked me if I wanted a beer after I asked for the gluten-free menu. I thought he was joking at first and then ordered the gluten-free beer and enjoyed it with my meal! I later learned that the beer was gluten-removed, not gluten-free. However, I do not recall having any immediate reactions to it. Since that first drink of gluten-removed beer, I have become obsessed with discovering gluten-free beer that is new to me; specifically, the beer brewed gluten-free (not gluten-removed or reduced) beer.
Travel and Gluten Free Beer
My wife and I love hiking and traveling. So, when planning vacations, we started looking for new gluten-free breweries to visit. To date, I have had the pleasure of visiting seven dedicated gluten-free breweries, and looking forward to visiting more gluten-free breweries in the future.
Dave’s Favorite Gluten Free Breweries
Holiday Brewery in Golden, Colorado
Rocky Mountain National Park is our favorite place to go hiking, and we plan an annual road trip to this area. While there, we always visit Holidaily’s taproom in Golden, CO. Holidaily has a beautiful outside patio and hosts a dedicated gluten free food truck in the parking lot on the weekends. The fish and chips from the Dedicated Bistro food truck are incredible! This year, I was excited to visit Holidaily’s second taproom in the Denver Tech Center. It’s a fantastic venue. We enjoyed an afternoon hanging out on their outside patio.
My favorite Holidaily beer is their award-winning Bombastic Hazy IPA. This gluten-free IPA has a limited release on tap. However, their readily available Big Henry Hazy IPA is very similar and available year-round. I am thankful that Holidaily distributes its entire lineup of canned beers to Kansas City. I have access to safe and delicious beer only five miles from home!
Groundbreaker Brewery in Portland, Oregon
When we visited Groundbreaker Gluten Free Brewery in 2019, I had no idea there were four other gluten-free breweries in the area! We had a great lunch at their taproom while I enjoyed a flight of gluten-free beer. I am a massive fan of the beer lineup, and their IPA No. 5 is one of my favorite beers. I look forward to returning to Groundbreaker and checking out the other dedicated gluten-free breweries in the Portland area.
This was the first gluten-free brewery that I visited. They have a beautiful taproom with a full bar menu. I have visited twice and ordered their fish and chips both times. After ordering a flight or two with my meal, I look forward to wrapping up with a big piece of carrot cake. My favorite Ghostfish Beer is their Grapefruit IPA. Again, this was one of the first gluten-free beers that I ever had, and it remains one of my favorites.
Burning Brothers in St Paul, MN
This gluten-free brewery was one of the most welcoming we visited! The two owners were working the bar, mingling with the crowd, making us feel at home. My wife and I sat at a table inside the gluten-free brewery, surrounded by equipment. Burning Brothers was a fun place to enjoy a couple flights of their beer. In addition, they hosted a dedicated gluten free food truck in the parking lot while we were there. We ordered from a menu inside the taproom, and our food was delivered to our table. My favorite Burning Brothers Beer is their Pyro American Pale Ale.
Only a four-hour drive from Kansas City, where I live, NEFF gluten-free brewery is the closest gluten-free brewery to home. My wife and I have visited the taproom three times. They have a fantastic, dedicated gluten-free restaurant inside the taproom with all the fried gluten-free food you would ever want to eat! I always enjoy fried mushrooms, fish, and chips, while my wife is a big fan of their chicken and waffles. My favorite NEFF beer is their Ignition Switch Pale Ale. I am thankful that NEFF distributes a few of their beers to Kansas City, too, so I can enjoy their gluten free beers at home.
Although we were at the brewery in 2020, we could not go inside due to COVID protocols. However, we were able to pick up a few of their beers to take with us on our way to hike near Devil’s Lake. My favorite Alt Brew beer is their Hollywood Nights IPA.
Located near Cincinnati, OH, and an easy drive from KC, this was another fun road trip for us. Although there were no food options, we had a fun afternoon sampling their beer. We visited in mid-March and got to enjoy a green beer on tap. Another gluten free first! My favorite Rolling Mills beer is their Anti-Federalist American Pale Ale.
Although I haven’t visited their taprooms, I have tried gluten free beer from each of the following gluten free breweries: Aurochs – Pittsburg, PA; Lucky Pigeon – Biddeford, ME; Buckwild – Oakland, CA; Moonshrimp – Portland, OR; Brewery Nyx – Grand Rapids, MI; Devine Science – Tustin, CA; and Glutenberg – Montreal, QC.
My wife and I are planning a trip to Boston this summer. We look forward to visiting Lucky Pigeon in Biddeford, ME and Red Leaf in Jefferson, VT while in the area!
Cheers!
@glutenfree.dave
Discover tips on how to safely travel gluten-free with my complimentary ebook, Ten Tips for Traveling Gluten Free! You can also find out more details about how to travel via cruise, road trip, or camping and learn the freedom you can have when you know how to travel with Celiac disease when you grab my Guide to Traveling Gluten Free.