Glutenberg Blonde

Brasseurs Sans Gluten's Glutenberg Blonde takes the "blonde" part of the name very seriously. This gluten-free millet and corn brew is extremely clear and extremely pale--it's a very light gold colour. It's quite well carbonated, but pours with only a slight coating of loose white head. This Montrealer brew is quite light-bodied, clocking in at just 4.5% alcohol. It's sold in smart-looking but very hard to read 473mL cans.

Glutenberg Blonde has a dry and grainy nose. It has an agreeably beery mouthfeel--fizzy and crisp like a pale lager. Like most gluten-free brews I've quaffed, not many drinkers would mistake this stuff for a conventional ale or lager; however, its grainy flavour with faint notes of apple is none too shabby. 

The beer is dry, crisp, and refreshing. It's certainly not the can of beer I'd reach for on a regular basis, but if (*knock on wood*) I ever become gluten intolerant, I'd certainly be glad that good gluten-free beers like GB exist.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.

Mongozo Premium Pilsner

I had a 400mL glass of Mongozo Premium Pilsner, a gluten-free, organic, and fair trade pale lager, on tap at Toronto's Town Crier Pub. This stuff is produced by Mongozo BV, out of Venray, The Netherlands. According to the Mongozo website, it's the world's first lager to combine gluten-free, organic, and fair trade. It's a fizzy, pale golden brew and arrived mildly hazy and capped with an elegant white head. The beer list at the Town Crier informed me that the stuff contains the standard 5% alcohol and brewed using barley malt.

I've been burned by gluten-free beers in the past, which accounts for this one being the first I've reviewed, but I had 30 minutes to kill before a movie and decided to take a risk.

Aroma-wise, this beer is all pilsner, with a grainy, cereal-filled, and decently hoppy. This doesn't entirely translate in terms of flavour or mouthfeel. The beer is pretty thin, and lacks the crispness that I've come to expect from the pilsner style. It has an alright enough flavour, though it's unusually mild and has a bit of a gluten-free funk that manifests in curious, corn-syrupy sweetness. I wish it tasted more like it smells.

While this beer was far better than some other gluten-free efforts that I've tried, against quality European pale lagers, it comes up a bit short. I'm inclined to give it a fairly favourable rating, owing to its pedigree as an enigmatic bière sans gluten, but it can't be too high, since it didn't offer the pilsner satisfaction that I was after. Consider my rating accordingly.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10.