Tasting Panel: Andrea Waterhouse CAMRA
(Tuesday 7th February 2006) Alun Waterhouse  CAMRA
Nick Wheat CAMRA
Rob Kay Coeliac UK
John Boyle Guest
Mike Davidson Coeliac UK
Secretary to the Tasting Panel: Steve Ford glutenfreebeerfestival.com
With thanks to Norma Thompson and James Bacon for making the tasting possible


The Tasting Panel: Nick Wheat, John Boyle, Rob Kay, Andrea Waterhouse, Alun Waterhouse and Steve Ford
(picture courtesy Mike Davidson)

Click on the name of the beer to read the tasting notes and contact details for each beer.
Fine Ale Club: Against the Grain (4.5% ABV) 500ml
Free-aglut: Bierra (5.0% ABV) 330ml
Green's: Discovery (6.0% ABV) 330ml
Green's: Explorer (6.0% ABV) 330ml
Green's: Herald (4.0% ABV) 500ml
Green's: Pioneer (5.0% ABV) 330ml
Green's: Trailblazer (4.7% ABV) 500ml
Hambletons: GFA (4.2% ABV) 500ml
Hambletons: GFL (4.8% ABV) 500ml
Hambletons: Toleration Ale (4.2% ABV) 500ml
Heron: Beer (6.0% ABV) 330ml
Koff: Lager (2.6% ABV) 330ml
Koff: Läyteläinen Kevytolut 4.1 (4.1% ABV) 330ml
Laitilan: Kukko Pils III (4.5% ABV) 500ml
Laitilan: Kukko Dark Lager (3.8% ABV) 500ml
Lakefront: New Grist (5.0% ABV) 355ml
Les Bieres de la Nouvelle France: La Messagere (4.7% ABV) 341ml
O'Brien: Premium Lager (4.5% ABV) 330ml
Ramapo Valley Brewery: Passover Honey Beer (4.5% ABV) 355ml
TE Chestnuts: Trail's End (unknown ABV)
Bard's: Dragon's Gold (unknown ABV)
BC's: Pilsner (unknown ABV)
Beer Up: Beer (unknown ABV)
Bi-aglut: Bierra (unknown ABV)
Free-aglut: Bierra (unknown ABV)
Glutaner: Premium (unknown ABV)
Schlafly: Beer (unknown ABV)
Silly Yak: Aztec Gold (unknown ABV)		 Where you see this icon, the tasting panel thought the beer should be noted for a particular quality. See the awards section at the end of the tasting notes for details of why an award was considered appropriate.

Bi-Aglut / Free-Aglut (5.0% ABV)
Gluten: not thought to have any gluten-containing ingredients - awaiting confirmation.
330ml
Appearance:
Cloudy off-yellow appearance with slight head.
Aroma:
Very slight
Flavour, aftertaste, feel & comments:
Very little flavour. Quite insipid.
Public Feedback:
"Very poor”, “Its ok, if there was nothing else to drink”, “passable”, “tasteless”.

Fine Ale Club: Against the Grain (4.5% ABV) - Bottled Conditioned
Gluten: less than 13ppm
500ml
Appearance:
Pale straw-coloured traditional ale.
Aroma:
Citrus hop aroma.
Flavour, aftertaste, feel & comments:
No-nonsense easy-drinking session real ale. Lemony citrus flavour, dry aftertaste. After several pints, there is evidence of a hoppiness in the finish.
Public Feedback at the Festival:
"Excellent" - "Fabulous beery flavour" - "Twenty out of ten" - "Really good bitter beer".
The Mayor of Chesterfield enjoyed a glass of the handpull version and agreed it had a “distinctive taste”, and several pub landlords were surprised to find it “very pleasant”.

Glutaner: Premium (5.2% ABV)
Gluten: No gluten-containing ingredients
330ml
Appearance:
Bright clear and crisp pale lively beer.
Aroma:
Light fruitiness, subtly hoppy.
Flavour, aftertaste, feel & comments:
Slightly sweet refreshingly light flavour. Genuinely beer-like, but drinking it cold is highly recommended, to get the best feel of a premium lager.
Public Feedback:
"Very nice”, The best GF lager I have tried”, “a real `continental’ GF choice”

Green's: Discovery (6.0% ABV) - (aka 'Heron')
Gluten: No gluten-containing ingredients
330ml
Appearance:
Hazy brown appearance.
Aroma:
Very discreet appley aromas.
Flavour, aftertaste, feel & comments:
Slight fruit flavours becoming increasingly bitter.
Public Feedback at the Festival:
"Very nice" - "Definitely a beer I will be ordering"

Green's: Explorer (6.0% ABV)
Gluten: No gluten-containing ingredients
330ml
Appearance:
Beautiful ruby red, dark fruity beer.
Aroma:
Slightly sweet distinctly black cherry aroma.
Flavour, aftertaste, feel & comments:
Starting with a black forest gateaux taste in the initial flavours, this is reminiscent of a Belgian Kriek beer, or a strong dark mild. Dangerously drinkable and easy to forget it is 6%! Rich and deep.
Public Feedback at the Festival:
"Very enjoyable" - "Interesting flavours with a range of aftertastes"

Green's: Herald (4.0% ABV)
Gluten: No gluten-containing ingredients
500ml
Appearance:
Lightly carbonated brown ale.
Aroma:
Slightly sour aroma which we think is of buckwheat.
Flavour, aftertaste, feel & comments:
Lively citric Belgian style beer with cidery flavours throughout becoming increasingly evident in the aftertaste.
Public Feedback at the Festival:
"Nice stuff!" "Definitely a proper beer" "I could easily get very used to this"

Green's: Pioneer (5.0% ABV)
Gluten: No gluten-containing ingredients
330ml
Appearance:
Crisp and bright appearance.
Aroma:
Faintest of acidic appley aromas.
Flavour, aftertaste, feel & comments:
Light bodied and deceptively strong.
Public Feedback at the Festival:
"Very drinkable" - "Not too heavy"

Green's: Trailblazer (4.7% ABV) - Low Carb Lager
Gluten: No gluten-containing ingredients
500ml
Appearance:
Nice straw-coloured lager appearance.
Aroma:
Obvious but not unpleasant appley aromas.
Flavour, aftertaste, feel & comments:
Smoothly soft lager with appley flavours. Easy to drink with a long clean dry aftertaste.
Public Feedback at the Festival:
"Definitely a nice-tasting beer" - "I can drink beer again!"

Hambleton: GFA (4.2% ABV) (aka Toleration Ale)
Gluten: No gluten-containing ingredients
500ml
Appearance:
Classic Nut-brown colour, appearance of a traditional bitter.
Aroma:
Smells sweetly of nuts and raisons.
Flavour, aftertaste, feel & comments:
Clingy Christmassy sweet ale, perfect for winter celebrations. Syrupy and viscous, heavy and reminiscent of a fruity port. Burnt lingering toffee aftertaste.
Public Feedback at the Festival:
"Very drinkable" - "Not too heavy".

Hambleton: GFL (4.8% ABV)
Gluten: No gluten-containing ingredients
500ml
Appearance:
Straw coloured, reminiscent of a pale lager.
Aroma:
Faint aroma.
Flavour, aftertaste, feel & comments:
Burnt citrus flavours full of interesting character with distinctive sweetness.
Public Feedback:
"interesting" - "a brave attempt at a traditional lager" - "quite sweet".

Koff: Lager (2.6% ABV)
Gluten: less than 20ppm
330ml
Appearance:
Highly carbonated pale gold beer.
Aroma:
Traditional lager aromas.
Flavour, aftertaste, feel & comments:
This low gravity lager provides refreshingly easy drinking. Clean off the palate it represents a summer session lager.
Public Feedback at the Festival:
"Refreshing beer for summer" - "Light and Lively" - "Very drinkable".

Koff: Läyteläinen Kevytolut 4.1 (4.1% ABV)
Gluten: less than 20ppm
330ml
Appearance:
Clear pale golden appearance, highly carbonated pale gold beer.
Aroma:
Lager aromas.
Flavour, aftertaste, feel & comments:
This solid thoroughbred continental lager is easy to drink like the lower gravity version, but is clearly the more dangerous option.
Public Feedback at the Festival:
"A fine easy beer" - "This I would want again".

Kukko: Pils III (4.5% ABV)
Gluten: less than 4ppm
500ml
Appearance:
Pale golden highly carbonated beer.
Aroma:
Faint citrus aroma.
Flavour, aftertaste, feel & comments:
Classic pilsner lager which does all that it should to the palate initially, leading to a short bitter aftertaste.
Public Feedback at the Festival:
"Best pils I’ve tasted for years!" - "Very nice refreshing lager".

Kukko: Dark Lager (3.8% ABV)
Gluten: less than 4ppm
500ml
Appearance:
Dark red-brown beer
Aroma:
Gentle sweetly fruity aromas, subtly reminiscent of freshly opened jam.
Flavour, aftertaste, feel & comments:
A rich burnt start becoming increasingly bitter with a dry aftertaste, subtly malty.
Public Feedback at the Festival:
"Very nice" - "Great Bitter" - "My first real beer for years – great!"