The Best Gluten-Free Beer

We sniffed, sipped, and spit more than forty of the most widely available gluten-free and gluten-reduced beers to bring you the best lagers, pale ales, Belgians, and browns for your frosty mug. Break out your bottle opener (and can-opening thumb) because these are the cold ones worth cracking.

By Erin Ng

GLUTEN-FREE BEERS
Gluten-free beer is beer that is made from 100-percent gluten-free ingredients and thus is celiac safe.

Bard’s Gold
A malted sorghum lager; malty and lightly fruity with apple and caramel notes; $9.99/ 6-pack of 12-oz bottles. bardsbeer.com

Glutenberg American Pale Ale
Made from millet, buckwheat, and corn; sharp “regular beer” taste, with a sweet and bitterorange tartness; $10.99/4-pack of 16-oz cans. glutenberg.ca

New Planet Belgian Ale
A sorghum and brown rice lighter Belgianstyle brew; strong floral and honey sweetness; $7.99/4-pack of 12-oz bottles. newplanetbeer.com

Green’s Ipa
Millet, buckwheat, brown rice, and sorghum India pale ale; bitter, hoppy, and herbaceous, with citrus and faint coffee notes; $5.99/ 500-ml bottle. glutenfree beers.co.uk

Ground Breaker Ipa No. 5
Made from sorghum and organic lentils; moderate hoppiness and complex flavors of tropical fruit and earthy pine; $2.99/ 12-oz can. groundbreaker brewing.com

Glutenberg Blonde
A millet and corn creation for cider lovers; thin, slightly grainy, with strong apple and corn flavors; $10.99/4-pack of 16-oz cans. glutenberg.ca

Green’s Amber Ale
A combo of sorghum, rice, and buckwheat; grassy hops and hints of caramel apple; $5.99/500-ml bottle. glutenfree beers.co.uk

GLUTEN-REDUCED BEERS
Gluten-reduced beer is made from ingredients that contain gluten and is treated with an enzyme that eats the gluten, rendering it technically “gluten-free” from an FDA perspective. While some people experience no reaction, others do, depending on the brand.

Omission Lager
A malted-barley classic; summery honey and grassy effervescence; $9.99/6-pack of 12-oz bottles. omissionbeer.com

New Planet Tread Lightly Ale (Session Ale)
A mix of barley, malt, and rice; extremely light and fruity with a Coors Light drinkability; $8.49/6-pack of 12-oz cans. newplanet beer.com

Omission Pale Ale
Made with malted barley; hints of sweet caramel and malt with a nice bitter finish, comparable to a standard APA; $9.99/ 6-pack of 12-oz bottles. omission beer.com

Omission Ipa
A dry, smooth, malted barley– based brew; pleasingly mild bitterness and tropical undertones; $9.99/ 6-pack of 12-oz bottles. omission beer.com

Brunehaut Blond
USDA organic barley–based ale with apparent Belgian yeasts; very crisp and sweet; $13.99/4-pack of 11.2-oz bottles. brunehaut.com

Daura Damm
Spanish malted-barley import lager; refreshing and reminiscent of a standard macrobrew; $7.49/4-pack of 12-oz bottles. damm.com

Brunehaut Amber
A toasty, nutty barley–based dark; hints of citrus peel and a pleasant, woodsy aftertaste; $13.99/4-pack of 11.2-oz bottles. brunehaut.com