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Glütiny Pale Ale

Colorado
United States
glutiny pale ale new belgium beer
Judges Ratings 
1 Review
89
Aroma:
22 / 24
Flavor:
37 / 40
Appearance:
6 / 6
Mouthfeel:
7 / 10
Overall Impression:
17 / 20
Description 

There’s an uprising in the craft beer world, a mutiny on gluten, and the movement’s invaded our brewhouse, demanding we finally brew an uncompromised gluten-reduced pale ale fit for the most adventurous hopheads. Our response? This is Glutiny! For this new year-round release, we armed the beer with a hefty dose of exotic Equinox hops, lending breezy guava, papaya and stone fruits to a wash of sweet, slightly herbal malt flavors. We then employed a special enzyme during the brewing process, which breaks down the gluten. Like any delicious pale ale, expect swift bitterness in the swallow and an assertively dry finish, just how we like it. Ready to join the uprising? Taste the Glutiny.

[The fine print: This product is fermented from grains containing gluten and crafted to remove gluten. The gluten content of this product cannot be verified, and this product may contain gluten.]

When we decided to create a beer for beer lovers watching their gluten intake, we started experimenting with gluten free grains like quinoa, millet, sorghum and rice. While the resulting flavors were interesting, beers made with these grains tasted just like the grain from which they were produced -- not the same flavor we have come to expect from beer made using barley malt. Lucky for us there is another way to produce gluten-reduced beer made with grains that contain gluten. This method involves the use of an enzyme – a protein with a specific function – that breaks down gluten into smaller fragments. We add this enzyme in the brewing process and analyze the finished beer in the lab using the industry-supported R5 Competitive ELISA method. This creates a beer with all of the barley malt-derived flavor without all the gluten. [More fine print: Per the TTB, there is not yet a scientifically valid method for testing gluten in fermented products.]

Beverage Profile
ABV: 
6.0%
IBUs: 
30
Hops: 
Cascade, Chinook, Crystal, Equinox
Malts: 
Munich, C-80, Black
Judges Review 
Jason Johnson's picture
Judges Rating:
89
Aroma:
22 / 24
Appearance:
6 / 6
Flavor:
37 / 40
Mouthfeel:
7 / 10
Overall Impression:
17 / 20

This is the first gluten-free beer I’ve had in years; the last one I had did not taste at all like beer, but this brew does indeed taste like malt, hops and yeast, which is probably a refreshing change for those seeking a gluten-free beer. Off the pour, the beer is beautiful – pouring a gold color with excellent clarity and a frothy, off-white head. The retention is moderate, and lasts a few minutes before dissolving into a thin layer. The aroma is sitting very comfortably in the hop-forward camp – I get a lot of citrus, with grapefruit being the dominant player. It should be noted that there is some light tropical fruit notes in the background as well. The malt aroma is light and clean with a bit of a toasty grain. The flavor is very nice, especially for a gluten-free beer, and reflects the aroma fairly closely. I perceive some more white grapefruit along with some toasty grain, just like in the aroma. There is very little (if any) sweetness that I'm picking up. The bitterness is a bit higher than I was expecting, and there is a hint of mineral water in the finish. But all in all, this is a very good beer. Where the beer is lacking for me is in the mouthfeel. It’s quite a bit thinner in body than what I’m used to in an American Pale Ale, but for someone with a gluten intolerance, I would imageine this is a tradeoff they can live with.

I’m going to be 100 percent honest with you. For me, this a tough one to score because of my inexperience with gluten-free beers, but based on the one I had previously, this one is much more palatable and tastes like beer as I've come to know it. This one is, in all senses of the phrase, a real beer.

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