The Social Drinker

On gluten-free beer

This is a column about the joys of drinking. It is most decidedly not a medical column, so there is no point in getting into the debate about the benefits, or otherwise, of a gluten-free diet. What we can say, without fear of contradiction, is that more Irish people have adopted a gluten-free diet than almost any other country in the world, and many believe it is our Celtic DNA that makes us gluten intolerant.

In many cases, that means not drinking beer, because gluten is found in rye, wheat, and barley. Bad news for drinkers, but brewers around the world have been frantically developing beers for the niche created by beer-loving coeliacs. As usual when it comes to food fads, the Americans are ahead of the game, and now brew beers made from sorghum, rice and buckwheat (which isn’t a type of wheat).

In Ireland, the market leader is a Spanish beer called Daura, which comes in striking red packaging. It is not bad when chilled, and it’s easy to drink — a sort of Budweiser for coeliacs.

In recent months, Daura has faced a challenger in the shape of Hufi, which is named after the dramatic Hufifirn glacier in the Swiss Alps, although the beer itself has never been near Switzerland. In fact, it is made in Poland, but marketed here by an innovative Irish company that obviously has its eye on local sensibilities.

With just 93 calories a bottle, and available on offer for around €10 for six bottles in Dunnes Stores and SuperValu, Hufi tastes rather better than Daura, and ensures that you or your guests now have a decent and easy-to-find alternative when it comes to gluten-free drinking.

Whether anybody other than those on a gluten-free diet would chose to drink either beer is a moot point, but for those who do not have the luxury of drinking beer brewed from wheat or barley, Hufi and Daura make a lot of sense.