I’m excited to try this!  I like Woodchuck, but it is just too sweet to drink more than a couple.  I wonder how the light will taste…

I’ll see if I can get ahold of some ASAP.

PRESS RELEASE:  http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news/2012/05/07/anheuser-buschs-michelob-ultra.html

My sister found it and hed me try one.  It is an Apple Cider beer, but has more of a beer taste than Woodchuck.  It isn’t nearly as sweet as Woodchuck, which makes me think I could drink a few more and not get that sweet sick feeling that Woodchuck gives you after 3..4..5…OK, maybe 6 bottles.

Ever tried it?

What do you think?

Easily found?

I’ll add it to my gluten free beer review page later when I get a chance to try it again and more free time!

First, I have to say, while it is still an open debate on whether or not certain liquors are gluten free, it is a huge relief to absolutely know that Bombora and Cooranbong are gluten free!  I’m sure many of you can relate to that, and depending on how sensitive you are, stand on one side or the other of that dilemma.  Here is a solution.

Both vodkas are made from grapes grown in the Barossa Valley where many of the great Shiraz and Cabernet wine grapes are grown.  They both contain pure Australian water from the South Pacific.  Bombora is distilled five times and CorranBong is distilled TEN times.  I’m sure that has a lot to do with how smooth these are.

Bombora is a Premium vodka, according to the company.  I’m not educated in vodkas, but I would consider this in the same category as a Sky, Absolute, or Smirnoff vodkas.  Unless you really like the “bite” of vodka, this would be a great vodka to make mixed drinks with!  The advertisement reads, “The #1 selling premium Australian vodka.”  I found Bombora for $19.99.

CooranBong is a Super-Premium vodka.  I would put this right up there with Grey Goose, which I am fan of.  I found CooranBong for $25.99.  CooranBong was great by itself with some ice.  I would feel bad wasting a vodka like this in a mixed drink, but that mixed drink would be even better!  In the end, now I will always buy CooranBong over Grey Goose.  Grey Goose has become too cliche and overpriced, and CooranBong is 100% GLUTEN FREE!!! You can’t beat that!

After I picked up these vodkas, I started noticing them all over Kansas City and St. Louis in bars in liquor stores.  I have a list of about 40 places they are offered in the Kansas City area, and I assume other cities will be following closely behind.  I don’t only like them because they are gluten free, but they taste great!

I’ve been stingy with my samples over the past few months, because I wanted to give as many gluten free people a try.  I took them to a few events and all of my family events where there are ten gluten free people.

Each time I sampled them, I did a blind taste test between the two.  Nine out of ten people could tell a difference between the two and liked CooranBong better.  The most common response was that Bombora still had that vodka “bite” to it, and CooranBong was good and smooth.  Keep in mind we did try these only with ice.  Most people said the Bombora still has the typical vodka taste, but the CooranBong had much less of that taste.  Both were smooth but the CooranBong was better.

I always like to support products that market to the gluten free population, and these vodkas are perfect in the usual price range of $20-30.  It is worth giving them a try, especially for the piece of mind that they are 100% gluten free.

Gluten Free Beer Tasting: Episode 1: Part 1 of 2

• Redbridge
• Bard’s Tale
• New Grist

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Gluten Free Beer Tasting: Episode 1: Part 2 of 2

• Green’s
• St. Peter’s
• Hambleton

Please see the full gluten free beer review article HERE.

This is the same for Miller Light, Budweiser, Coors, Coors Light, Corona, Corona Light, Corona Extra, Heineken, Natural Light, Busch, Busch Light, Michelob, Michelob Light, Michelob Ultra, Miller High Life, Guinness, Becks, Labatt Blue, Sam Adams, Fat Tire, Pabst, Stella Artois, Molson, Dos Equis, Sol, Tecate, Bass, Newcastle, O’Douls, Keystone, Milwaukee’s Best, many more, & BUD LIGHT!

Please see my article on Gluten Free Beers and leave a comment about the ones you have tried.  Some examples of gluten free beer: Redbridge, Bard’s Tale, Green’s, New Grist, Messagere, Sprecher, & Woodchuck.

I have been asked this question a lot, and never covered it specifically, because I thought it was pretty self-explanatory.  After getting the question twice today in my live chat feature, I figured it was time to set the record straight.  NO, Bud Light is not gluten free.

Being freshly out of college and my old business catering to the summer vacation crowd, beer was one of the hardest things for me to give up.  On a daily basis, I was offered beer by customers and friends.  It was always hard to turn it down, led to lengthy conversations about celiac, and left them feeling very sorry for me.

Today, almost a year of 100% gluten free, I still miss normal beer only a little, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t.  It was very hard in the beginning, but the desire is much less now.  Now, I choose something different and don’t sweat over it.  The gluten free beers taste much better now than they used to, probably because I am forgetting the taste of Bud Light.

I have gluten beer in my fridge that has been there from before I switched to gluten free.  It has helped to have it in there, so that I can pass the willpower test every day.  I even threw some gluten free awareness wristbands around a few to always remind me.  It has worked.

Here is a before and after photo… of the beer I am drinking, not my weight, hahaha.

Before: In college drinking a Bud Light.

After: Recently holding a Woodchuck.