BEER!

For those who enjoy an adult beverage every once in a while, becoming gluten-free comes with the sad realization that you can no longer enjoy a cold, icy beer.
BUT NOW THERE ARE OPTIONS!

I was never a big beer drinker before, but I definitely enjoyed one occasionally. It's just something that fits well with a BBQ or a warm evening after a day on the beach.

When I first eliminated gluten, I wrote a post on discovering a gluten-free beer at the liquor store, but being too afraid to try it. There are some terrible replacement products out there on the market- and I feared trying to replicate beer would just end in sadness.

However,
New Grist is pretty good!

It's an American beer that sits at 5.7%. It's quite "light", so I would compare it to something like a Corona. In fact, New Grist is fantastic with a wedge of lime!
It's brewed completely without wheat or barley- so it's definitely, without a doubt, 100% gluten-free.
They've replaced the wheat and barley with sorghum, rice, hops, water, and yeast.

It definitely tastes like beer, but the only difference I found that really didn't bother me that much, is that it's mildly less carbonated than a standard beer.

I've found it at various BC liquor stores in Vancouver- just ask where to find it- it's definitely not sitting along with the regular beers. It's usually with the specialty single beers- the fruit beers, etc.
It's sold in bottled 6-packs- and again- grab yourself a lime.

I've also found it at the following restaurants in Vancouver: (list to be updated as I discover more places!)
- The Irish Heather (Gastown)
- Chill Winston (Gastown)
- The New Oxford (Yaletown)

EPIC Expo

YIKES! Apologies for the hiatus! This post below was one I drafted and never got back to...

SO here's my review of the EPIC Expo!

This weekend I attended the EPIC Sustainable Living Expo in Vancouver, BC. Conventions like this should happen all the time! It really was a wonderful event- lots to learn, and even more to eat and drink--even for me!

Let's start with my discoveries:

Mongozo Beer- now available in Canada- (less than 10 parts gluten per million, other parts?...equal to a milligram per litre). With this amount of gluten, they are allowed to certify it as "gluten-free".
I can tell you that I was absolutely fine after drinking it- I can't guarantee that if I went on a 3 day binge with this beer, I would feel the same. I'm going to try to track it down, because it really was delicious. Somehow they've come up with a process of "removing" the gluten from the barley that it is made with. Pretty innovative, and yes, it tastes like real beer!
Upon request, I was told, " It will likely be sold at 16th Street Liquor Store, Brewery Creek, Firefly, Legacy Liquor Store, The Strath or Viti Wine & Lagers"

Choices Markets were giving out samples of some of their products, and a couple of them were gluten-free!
They were:
Raw Cocoa-Nut Drop Cookie
Quinoa and Rice Granola

Both delicious- and I would likely purchase them!

Earth Balance spreads- Coconut spread, and regular. These are great! If you are vegan- rejoice and buy these products! They are made from vegetable oils and are NOT hydrogenated...I'm still doing my research on if they're "good" for you or not- but they certainly were delicious.

I'm really enjoying my exploration in local foods and producers. I've been going to the farmer's markets regularly, and loading up on my produce for the week! It's not only fun, but you feel good doing it. It's nice to see produce that LOOKS like real produce- you know, not the "cookie-cutter" vegetables at your regular grocery store that are obviously GMO or hybridized or sprayed with a zillion chemicals. These look, and TASTE like real vegetables.

Oh no! Beer!

So, I decided to start with a positive post, but here's the real deal:

Yesterday I had a beer. Today I'm really unhappy about that. For some reason, it just didn't compute that beer wasn't gluten-free. Beer is made with barley.

Barley = Gluten

Well, shit. I screwed up there. And after two weeks of feeling fantastic, I feel terrible again. Swollen around the middle, bloated, and unhappy. All after one beer.

So I've done some research about gluten-free beer, and it does exist.
Brands that I've discovered...but never tried (or know if they exist in Canada) include:

Bard's Tale Beer- USA
O'Brien- AUS
Messagere- CANADA
Nickel Brook-??
New Grist- USA

One day, I'll see if I can track some down, and see if they're even available in the "normal" liquor stores here in Vancouver.
I'll let you know.