Eat & Drink
Toronto gets its first gluten-free brewery
After four years of trial and error, Snowman Brewing, Toronto's first exclusively gluten free Brewery is set to commercially launch Thursday night at Kensington Market's already gluten-free-friendly Burger Bar. Founded by Kevin Snow and Hirsch Goodman, (Snow+Man) Snowman fills a void the two men saw in Toronto's beer scene. "We realized a demand for not just a gluten free beer, but a great beer that happens to be gluten free." There are currently only a handful of gluten free beer options available at the LCBO and Beer Store, and only one of them (Nickel Brook) is made in Ontario.
Snowman brewed their first batch for public consumption in rented tanks at the Black Oak Brewery in Etobicoke, but they aim to find a more permanent home. For now, however, they're content to show off their 4.7% ABV Ale while they experiment with different styles of gluten free beer. To date they've brewed at least six different styles of beer, ranging light to dark from pilsner to maple stout to Belgian quadruple. To get their recipe right, the two men "made a list of all the potential gluten free grains that were out there, and then just started mixing and matching," while reading all they could about brewing techniques. "We had quite a few batches that went right down the drain," says Snow "But with every test, we were one step closer to perfecting our recipes."
As recently as this summer, Snow and Goodman were experimenting with home-brewing techniques, including creating a malter from an old filing cabinet, "based on NASA technology," they joke. As demand for their product grew from word-of-mouth and excellent reviews, they decided to take the step to commercial brewing. This year Snowman won first place in both the strong ale and the brown ales categories at the All About Ales awards, the yearly awards given to amateur brewers by the Canadian Amateur Brewers Association. In each case their gluten-free brews were rated higher than glutinous competition.
There are many beer drinkers who would scoff at the idea of gluten-free beer, especially darker varieties, owning a full-bodied and earthy taste, but Snowman hopes to challenge that thinking. "The best we can do," says Snow, "is to provide a beer that gluten tolerant and intolerant alike can sit down, share, and enjoy together."
Writing by Gabe Pulver.
Photo (of a generic looking pint) by P. Frost on Flickr
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Congratulations Snowman! I do look forward to trying the brew.
Boo to gluten free.
I sympathize with celiac sufferers and others with digestive issues, but personally I would love to make it through 2012 without ever hearing the phrase 'gluten free' again.
This is an irrational and privileged position that I do not have any power or real desire to enforce, but annoyance is what it is.
I'm curious to give these a try...
Also, as a guy married to someone with Celiac, let me tell you I'm happy to be able to buy drinks for her that I'll actually want, too. Let the Gluten-Free nay-sayers shun it if they want, more Snowman Pail Ale for the rest of us.
That said, the comments on this post definitely highlight a lot of the frustration I've had as someone with celiac. People don't take my disorder seriously because the only gluten-free people they've encountered are the ones who are doing it for some vague "health reason" that is, at its core, usually bullshit.
By the way, there's no such thing as a "Fad celiac," dipshit. To get diagnosed with celiac, you need a barrage of medical tests. It's a disease you have the rest of your life. There is no cure. There are some people who can’t adhere to the diet, and they suffer the pretty ugly consequences. As mentioned above, even an infinitesimally tiny amount of gluten can send your system reeling. You lose the ability to absorb key nutrients from food. You lose energy. Your skin is terrible. You get violently ill. You lose hair. Later in life, you develop rare intestinal cancers and lymphomas.
And on top of that, most gluten free beer is not good. And the stuff that’s okay? It’s all kind of the same. Pretty light, often kind of fruity. Now, there is a lot of good cider, whiskey, gin, wine, etc. out there, but sometimes you just want to kick back with friends and drink a beer. I really hope this new range of gluten-free beers will be available in the US! There’s definitely an audience for it. My trusty beer-enthusiast friend from Canada is gonna keep me posted on progress for this beer. I’m so stoked!!!
/homebrewer
Thank you for making this beer!!!
And for all of you who are so ignorant to post suchlike sad excuses for a responses about something positive, I hope u may never have to deal with everything we do on a daily basis! Everything u take in your life for granted are challenges we face everyday! From brushing our teeth to washing our hair to the food we eat and what we drink! Your ignorance is apparent and disgusts me that in this day of age you feel it appropriate to even admit it! Shame on you!
Celiac, lactose intolerant, several food allergies, sensitives and fibro...
If we want to get excited about a beer we will!!!
I will not be expecting a fermented malted barley drink when I drink their brews. Whether one calls it beer or not (German purity law be damned, for all I care,) it's not going to taste just like a barley based beer, because it isn't that.
This said, I'm really excited to try what they make. I've tried a few gluten free beers, and while drinkable, they've all had a fruity or sourish taste. It's been years since I've had a dark beer (not by choice.) I'm just glad to hear that they're experimenting with a wide range of things and that they're actually putting work into their recipes.
I'm expecting great things. I'm so glad to hear of this. I just don't think it's fair to expect it to taste like something it's not. Here's to gluten free beers, not that taste like glutenous beer, but that are exceptionally delicious in their own right.
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