Organic? Gluten-Free? Top Beers for Superbowl Sunday
To many sports fans, it isn’t Super Bowl Sunday without a selection of iced-down brewskies to go along with the football madness and yummy snacks. Organic beers are better for your body and for the environment, while gluten-free brews are a godsend for those who suffer from celiac disease and find themselves unable to drink 99% of other beers out there.
No matter which team you are rooting for this year, pair your cheers with one of these organic and/or gluten-free beers:
Lakefront Brewery New Grist Organic Gluten-Free Beer: America’s first gluten-free beer, New Grist is brewed in Milwaukee and certified organic. A pale gold beer that is brewed from sorghum, rice, and gluten-free yeast grown on molasses, New Grist is exceptionally refreshing and appeals to drinkers of many persuasions.
Peak Organic Winter Session Ale: Bottled off the coast of Maine, Peak Organic Brewing Company creates a wide selection of organic beers, from pale ale and IPA to espresso amber and nut brown ale. Beer drinkers on the dark side will love Peak’s Winter Session Ale, a toasty dark malt affair with enlivening citrus notes throughout.
Bison Brewing Organic Chocolate Stout: Available in twelve states and produced from a Berkeley, CA headquarters, Bison Brewing crafts USDA-certified organic beers. With a blend of cocoa and five organic malts, Bison’s Organic Chocolate Stout is the company’s most award-winning beer and a fine match for hearty sports fans.
Bard’s Original Sorghum Malt Beer: Made from sorghum syrup instead of grain syrup, this golden amber beer smells and tastes much like a regular wheat-brewed ale. However this drink contains no gluten and is instead crafted with sorghum, hops, yeast, buckwheat, honey, corn and rice.
Stone Mill Organic Pale Ale: Perhaps the most widely available beer on this list, Stone Mill Organic Pale Ale is one of Anheuser-Busch’s two organic selections available nationwide (the other is their Wild Hop Lager). Fresh and light, the pale ale is made with 100% organic barley malt for a classic taste that goes down well with football cheers.
Green’s Discovery Gluten-Free Amber Ale: Green’s produces several gluten-free beers in the UK, however a few of them are available stateside as well. Their all-natural Discovery Ale is a medium-bodied affair with nut and caramel undertones, and will go down well with Superbowl Sunday snacks like chips and dip.
Eel River Organic IPA: For those who don’t like to fool around, reach for an IPA, preferable an organic selection such as Eel River Brewing Company’s IPA. The country’s first certified organic brewery, Eel River makes a fine and refreshing IPA and is environmentally conscious – all the power used to brew the beer is produced from lumber mill leftovers such as bark, wood chips and scrap lumber.
Redbridge Gluten-Free Beer: With a slight red color and a robust craft beer taste, Redbridge is another sorghum beer that is made without wheat or barley. Distributed widely and easy to find, this rich, full-bodied lager will please beer drinkers who like a little flavor but no glutens in their brews.
Please note: Gluten is a protein found in grains like wheat, barley and rye. Those who suffer from gluten sensitivity or an intolerance aka celiac disease (about one percent of the population) should avoid gluten in their diets. However, “gluten-free” food and beverage items, while certainly trendy these days, may not be better for the earth than their glutenated counterparts or healthier for those who don’t suffer from celiac disease. If you suspect that you might be gluten intolerant, please talk to your doctor before changing to an unsupervised gluten-free diet in order to rule out other possibilities.
Photo Credit: NY Daily News
