Friday, August 20, 2010

Gluten-free, alcoholically...

So this summer I decided to take the plunge, so to speak.   And I decided to try gluten-free beers.  This was actually stepping out of my comfort zone quite a bit for me, since I never liked beer much even when I ate gluten.

But there are gluten-free beers I quite like!   I'm still in sampling mode.... but I've liked New Grist as well as Green's Endeavor (a dark ale).  My only caveat with them is that neither has *GLUTEN FREE* in large  friendly letters on the bottle, leaving it open to the possibility that your relatives will drink them.   *sigh*

I still can't finish a whole bottle, though.  I'm an alcoholic lightweight.  

My big concern, always, is going out to eat.  I quite like mixed drinks, but I've been afraid to order them for fear of getting glutened...   but it seems that more and more alcohol companies are testing their products for gluten.

Unfortunately, it seems that Godiva contains gluten...  (waaaaaah), but quite a few don't.

http://www.triumphdining.com/blog/gluten-free-alcohol/

Now if there was only a card to give a bartender....   it ends up being an odd list....

http://www.glutenfreedrinks.com/AlcoholBeverages.htm

with some varieties of brands being safe, and some not....

I get tired of just drinking wine, sometimes......  

If any bartenders are reading this, do you keep some kind of a cheat-sheet on gluten-free alcohol behind the bar?