Socializing or going out to a couple bars often involves an alcoholic beverage or two. While most establishments have an assortment of wine, beer, and spirits in stock, when you’re going gluten free your choices might be severely limited.

Luckily pub owners, restaurateurs, brewers, distillers, and wine makers are all responding to this special dietary trend, and they’re starting to offer more adult beverage options for gluten free drinkers.

Finding Gluten-Free Beer

Beer has everything that someone living gluten-free must reject since its made with hops and barley. But, thanks to a growing effort to remove the gluten post-brew, gluten-free options are becoming a bigger phenomenon in establishments across the country.  

 

There are also beers available made from buckwheat or sorghum. While they don’t have the same taste as traditional beer, the gluten content is greatly reduced or completely absent. And, if you just can’t deal with the gluten-free acquired beer taste, try a hard cider on for size. Hard cider uses fermented apples instead of wheat products, and it serves as a cold refreshment similar to beer.

Wine Is A Great Choice For Gluten-Free

Wine, of course, is made from grapes, which are completely gluten-free. So you don’t have to worry about enjoying a glass or two with the fear that gluten is lurking about… for the most part.

 

There are some winemakers who add gluten to help with the aging process of their wine. These tend to be larger winemakers, who will usually label their wine indicating such. If you’re having a glass of local wine you shouldn’t worry. And, even if you do have a glass from a larger vineyard, the gluten content is usually less than 20 parts per million, which the FDA classifies as gluten-free.

Spirits

The world of alcoholic spirits are much more hit and miss when it comes to gluten-free considerations. Potato Vodka, rum, and tequila are all hard liquors that are completely gluten-free. Whiskey (scotch, bourbon, or otherwise) all contain gluten at some point.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has concluded that gluten derived distilled alcohol is in fact gluten-free because it contains less than 20 parts per million of gluten in the final drink. But other organizations such as the Celia Support Association recommends avoiding these types of drinks.

 

Choosing whether or not to drink grain based alcohol is a personal decision based on one’s individual sensitivity to gluten. So you will need to decide for yourself whether or not to enjoy a whiskey or two.

A Gluten Free Occasion

Whether you’re out for the evening with friends, at home enjoying a drink, or enjoying some dueling pianos, all you need is a little extra thought to find an enjoyable gluten-free beverage option.

It may be that the venue has gluten-free beer or hard cider available. If not, choose a glass of wine, the majority of which is naturally gluten-free. And, if you’re in the mood for a cocktail, decide for yourself if a grain based spirit is right for you or if you’ll be strictly sticking to something made with rum or tequila.