I’ve got a brand new (to me) gluten free Vienna Lager to try today, and it’s brewed by Bierly Brewing in McMinnville Oregon. This Vienna Lager is brewed in a dedicated gluten free facility and is packaged in pint-size cans.
The Ganz Vienna Lager is brewed on malted millet and malted rice. It enjoys a 5.1% ABV and 20 IBU. I’m not sure if this is a year-round offering or not, but I hope so!
The can reveals that the gluten free Ganz was inspired by the time spent in Viennese beer halls and took over 5 years to develop. The Bierly family went through 20 different recipes (I think I read that as 29 when I recorded the video…it’s hard to tell with the font) before landing on this one, so my hopes are high for this tasting.
Below you will find the video of the beer pour, and then you can keep scrolling to discover my review. Don’t forget to leave your own comments at the bottom if you’ve tasted this gluten free Vienna Lager yourself!
The Taste Test
Ganz Vienna Lager
Spoiler alert! This is one hell of a beautiful gluten free lager. The first 3/4 of the pint-size can poured with a vibrant high-clarity golden amber color, and a very audible and generous head. Naturally, before I got to take my first sip, I knocked it over and spilled most of this treasured Vienna Lager all over my kitchen. When I poured what was left in the can, I found it a little less clear than the initial pour, so it’s obvious I did not agitate it well enough before the first pour. Which ironically was remedied by my clumsiness. 🤦♀️
The head bubbles away, but leaves a thin layer topping the beer, giving it a frosty look. The color looks the same, no matter the lighting. The aroma is wonderfully malty, yet lager-crisp. The carbonation held well through my assault, and the first taste reveals a crisp texture and a bright balanced flavor.
The first quality you notice is the bready malt, quickly followed by the small bite of carbonation, and then the lager finishes with an earthy hop profile and a lingering maltiness on the tongue. It’s light, flavorful, and quite refreshing.
It has a 5.1% ABV, so it’s not too light, although the fact that I threw half of it against the kitchen wall will keep me from feeling a buzz either way. There aren’t a ton of gluten free Vienna Lagers out there on the market — and even fewer that are brewed in a dedicated gluten free facility like this Ganz.
I would recommend snagging a can of this if you ever see it in a local store or brewery. This would be an excellent summer brew, I can just imagine it now. Kicking back on the porch in the afternoon sun. Which couldn’t be farther from my winter reality right now. But one can dream…
If you find the Ganz Vienna Lager, please do your best not to smack the glass out of your own hand before trying it, because you won’t want to miss a sip, trust me! Then return to this review and please let me know what you thought of it in the comment section below.
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