It's been a hard day/week/year. You need a drink. You head to the closest pub thinking about an icy cold beer. You walk in, look through all the taps and even in the fridges, but they don't have any beer. Sounds a bit bizarre? Not if you have coeliac disease.
Over the last 5 years or so, that's what faced me every time I walked into a bar/pub/restaurant/wedding/football game etc. Luckily for all the coeliacs out there, things are changing, at least in Brisbane.
I was at Kerbside recently, lining up at the bar for a drink. I'd already decided on a good G&T (with Bombay Sapphire) but was just scanning through the drinks fridge, because there was a pretty impressive line up of beers. All of a sudden I noticed they had O'Brien's gluten free beer stubbies in the fridge. I couldn't believe it, because I'd never seen them in a bar, so I had to ask the bar tender:
Me - "Is that actually O'Brien's gluten free beer in the fridge?"
Bar guy - "Yep, we have two types - the premium lager and the pale ale"
Me - Dumbfounded. Can't decide. NEVER had this many beer choices in the last 5 years at a bar. (The guy must think I'm crazy while I try to decide) "I'll have a premium lager." Walk off, still amazed, guzzling down the beer.
Anyway, since that trip to Kerbside (which is brilliant by the way), I've found out there are a couple of other bars in Brisbane serving gluten free beer:
Kerbside - O'Brien's Premium Lager and Pale Ale
Archive - O'Brien's
The German Club - O'Brien's
Bavarian Bier Cafe - Schnitzer Brau (A German gluten free beer brewed from millet)
Hats off to those bars! Each of them is now top of my list next time I really need a beer. If you know of any other Brisbane bars that are serving gluten free beer, let me know, and I'll add them to this post.
Tasting notes
2 weeks ago
