The base ingredient of most beer is barley, although some use wheat as well.
Both grains contain a protein called gluten, which upsets the intestines of some people.
A reader therefore asks whether there are gluten-free beers, just as there are gluten-free breads and other foods.
There are, but not many and their scarcity commands a premium price - unless the coeliac disease sufferer takes the word of some rice-beer brewers.
Budweiser claims, for example: "Our beer is gluten-free.
Its primary ingredient is rice and the barley that is used in brewing is turned into amino acids during the brewing process and our scientists have been unable to detect any gluten."
Japanese brewer Sapporo, which also relies mainly on rice for its beer, is also confident its beer is not harmful to coeliac disease sufferers.
The alternative is to look for beer made from buckwheat or sorghum, a grass used in many African beers.
The two closest producers are O'Brien Brewing in Australia and Scott's Brewing in Auckland.
Contact info@scottsbrewing.co.nz or thetwistedhop.co.nz for O'Brien or glutenfreekiwi.com for other gluten-free imports.
Cider alternative
Apples, of course, do not contain gluten and provide an alternative alcoholic beverage.
About a dozen cider labels can be found in supermarkets, and Rochdale is joining them in New World stores.
Rochdale was made in Nelson from the 1930s until former All Black Terry McCashin bought the factory and turned it into a brewery for his Mac's beer in 1981.
Lion Breweries bought the brand and leased the plant in 1999 until last year, when son Dean and his wife Emma moved in.
They now produce fruit vodka and perry (made from pears), traditional cider and ginger and lime cider under the Rochdale name, and promise there will be a beer, too, eventually.
Cooking with the leftovers
The remainder of my Rochdale perry was used instead of water to bake pork cuts, then drained and thickened into a sauce.
Delicious.
The traditional cider was used, again instead of water (although we used ginger ale for extra flavour and a touch of sweetness) to slow-cook corned beef.
My Louise is still thinking about what the ginger and lime cider will suit and also the orange tang of Emerson's Harvest Fresh Hop Ale (see last column).
Best lager
Tiger has gained a gold medal and been judged the best international lager at the World Beer Cup in Chicago.
About 3300 beers from 44 countries were entered.
Tiger, which is a Singapore-based Asia Pacific Breweries brand, is also brewed in New Zealand by Asia Pacific-owned DB Breweries.
The local stuff gained gold at the New Zealand International Beer Awards in 2008.
The lager has a spicy hop flavour which suits seafood and Asian dishes.
Incidentally, O'Brien, mentioned above, was awarded a silver medal at the same World Beer Cup for its gluten-free brew.
Wild food
Cafes and restaurants have a fortnight to enter this year's Monteith's Beer and Wild Food Challenge, by developing dishes which match food not normally raised on a farm with one of Monteith's seven beers.
Diners can vote for their favourite dishes between June 4 and July 18, and regional finalists will compete at the end of August for a $10,000 prize.
Email: lojo.rico@xtra.co.nz
- Review by Rod Oram
