The Beer Guy Review #16 – GUEST REVIEW of Gluten-Free/Gluten-Reduced beers from Mike Osborne of Mount Greenwood Brewing

The Beer Guy
September 21, 2012

The Beer Guy

Occupation: Beer Taster & Reviewer
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This week on “The Last Call Show,” Tomm Bauer and I welcomed Mike Osborne, of Mount Greenwood Brewing, to discuss homebrewing, gluten-free beer, gluten sensitivity and celiac disease.  Recently, Mike found out he had issues with gluten sensitivity.  Having homebrewed since the beginning of 2011, and enjoyed beer for longer than that, Mike felt he was handed a death sentence.

While he did not test positive for celiac disease, which impacts 1 in 133 people, Mike went on a gluten-free diet for a couple weeks and found that most of the symptoms associated with such disorders went away.  It was just a gluten sensitivity issue, of which roughly 20,000,000 Americans deal with.  Mike had to make some changes, and as he puts it, “When life throws you a curveball, knock it out of the park!”  And Mike is doing that, changing his diet and types of beer he homebrews to be gluten-reduced (GR) and gluten-free (GF) concoctions.

I recently asked Mike to write some guest reviews of GF or GR beers.  His fantasy football draft was coming up soon, so that would be a good opportunity to give the Life of Dad community some reviews.  Says Mike, “This was an unofficial tasting for me and the focus of the night was a fantasy football draft (I owned it too by the way), so my notes are all mental flashbacks (I over served myself a tad).”  Thanks, Mike, for your contribution!

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Name of beer: Daura

Brewing Company: Estrella Damm

Brewing Location: Barcelona, Spain

Type of Beer: Euro Style Lager (Gluten-Free) – ABV: 5.4%

Mike Osborne Review:

I started with Daura. The look, aroma, mouthfeel and taste was as if MGD and Old Style got hitched and this was their love child. To be fair, it is a lager and I am an ale kind of guy. I will not be having again anytime soon.

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Name of beer: Off Grid Pale Ale

Brewing Company: New Planet

Brewing Location: Boulder, CO

Type of Beer: American Pale Ale (Gluten-Free) – ABV: 5%

Mike Osborne Review:

Next up in my stein was New Planet. It poured a nice head of white foam. Aroma was very pungent, possibly dry hopped a tad with some Simcoe or Zeus hops? And if I recall, the base grains used are sorghum and rice. Very lacking in malt flavor and body. But the hops cover up a multitude of sin. And in this 100% gluten free beer they succeed, but fall just shy of greatness.

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Name of beer: Bio Blonde

Brewing Company: Brunehaut Brewery

Brewing Location: Rongy, Belgium

Type of Beer: Belgian Pale Ale (Gluten-Reduced) – ABV: 6.5%

Mike Osborne Review:

Brunehaut Bio Blonde (gluten reduced).  4.5 out of 7. Last in my stein was Brunehaut Bio Blonde. A beer that can appreciated by all Belgian beer lovers. Blonde to the eyes, nose and mouth. Good head and weighing in at 6.5% abv. A refreshing beer I would drink again.

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Again, special thanks to our good friend, Mike Osborne, of Mount Greenwood Brewing, for his guest reviews.

For more on gluten-free and gluten-reduced beers, check out Episode 2 of “The Last Call Show” with Tomm Bauer and myself, where we had Mike as our guest.

So, what do you think?  Have you had this beer?  Do you like it?  Do you not like it?  Send me a note at The Beer Guy’s mailbag, TheBeerGuy@lifeofdad.com.  You can follow me on Twitter (@TheBeerGuyLOD), Facebook and LinkedIn as well.  Take care, happy (and safe) drinking, and enjoy your weekend.

About The Beer Guy – A dad, husband, friend and drinker of beer. I review & blog about it all on LifeOfDad.com, the social network for Dads.  The Beer Guy enjoys IPA’s and Pilsner’s, but will really try any kind of beer.  You may disagree on some of his opinions.  Let The Beer Guy know.  Reviews are published on Thursdays.  Blogging is done on Tuesdays.  Read more here to learn about The Beer Guy, who he is and his beer rating methodology.

The Beer Guy, and Life of Dad, promote responsible drinking.  Never drink and drive.

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