Gluten-Free Beer Style
- Color: Varies with underlying style
- Clarity: Varies with underlying style
- Perceived Malt Aroma & Flavor: Varies with underlying style
- Perceived Hop Aroma & Flavor: Varies with underlying style
- Perceived Bitterness: Varies with underlying style
- Fermentation Characteristics: Although brewers may design and identify these beers according to defined style guidelines, these beers should be evaluated on their own merits without strict adherence to defined style parameters.
- Body: Varies with underlying style
- Additional notes: This category includes lagers, ales or other beers made from fermentable sugars, grains and converted carbohydrates and must also include some portion of cereal. All ingredients must be free of gluten. Within the framework of these guidelines, beers brewed with barley, wheat, spelt, rye, and other gluten-containing ingredients may not be categorized as Gluten-Free. Gluten-Free Beers may contain malted grains that are gluten-free. NOTE: These guidelines do not supersede any government regulations. Wine, mead, flavored malt beverages or beverages other than “beer” as defined by the TTB (U.S. Trade and Tax Bureau) are not considered “gluten-free beer” under these guidelines. Gluten-reduced beers’ original ingredients would have gluten content that has been reduced by enzymes or other processes to reduced levels. Gluten-reduced beers should be categorized in the classic style category most appropriate for the beer, rather than as Gluten-Free Beer.
When using these guidelines as the basis for evaluating entries at competitions, brewers may be asked to provide supplemental information about entries in this category to allow for accurate evaluation of diverse entries. Such information might include an underlying beer style if appropriate, gluten free grains and/or other carbohydrate sources or other information unique to the entry such as ingredients or processing which influence perceived sensory outcomes such as microflora, fruit, spices or other ingredients, wood aging, etc.
Gluten-Free Beer Vital Statistics
- Original Gravity (°Plato) Varies with style
- Apparent Extract/Final Gravity (°Plato) Varies with style
- Alcohol by Weight (Volume) Varies with style
- Bitterness (IBU) Varies with style
- Color SRM (EBC) Varies with style
2020 Brewers Association Beer Style Guidelines used with permission of Brewers Association.
Credit: 2020 Brewers Association Beer Style Guidelines – Hybrid/Mixed Lagers or Ale – Gluten-Free Beer