Glutenberg American Pale Ale

The Glutenberg American Pale Ale

Brewed in Montreal, Canada

It’s time to crack open another Canadian beer! The Glutenberg American Pale Ale is on the menu tonight, and is only the second Canada-brewed beer that I’ve reviewed. I recently tasted and reviewed the Glutenberg IPA (the green can), and this one in front of me tonight is the only other style I’ve found distributed to my town.

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The APA comes in a red 16 ounce can, which I found at a local natural food store, sold in singles. While examining the can, I learned that the Glutenberg APA won Silver in the gluten free beer category of the 2012 World Beer Cup. This sparked my curiosity, and my research led me to discover many more awards, including a Gold medal earned by their IPA in the 2016 World Beer Cup. Congrats Glutenberg! Now let’s get on to tasting this beer.

The Taste Test

Glutenberg APA

The Glutenberg American Pale Ale has a crystal clear light orange hue. It’s so clear that you can read this review through it. Seriously…I tried it. It poured with a light–but beautiful head. The kind that has bubbles so tiny it forms a snowy froth at the top of the glass. Th longer it sits, the creamier the head looks. Check out the beer pour on our Instagram to see it for yourself.

I must say, this is a beautiful looking beer. It’s so clear that you can sit and watch the carbonation dance to the surface. The brew’s taste is light and crisp, with flavors of citrus and caramel. To me, it tastes like a hoppy lager. The APA has a light sweetness upon first taste, but the bitterness wins out in the end, lingering on the palate long after the swallow.

The grain bill for the APA is a bit different than that of the IPA. The American Pale Ale utilizes millet, buckwheat, corn, and quinoa (instead of black rice, like the IPA). I am a big fan of the nutty deliciousness that is quinoa. It is quite an expensive grain to brew with, but it can make wonderful beer.

This beer holds a 5.5% ABV and a 35 IBU rating, which for reference, is roughly half of the Glutenberg IPA IBU. So if you prefer your hops to pack more aroma and flavor than bitterness, this may be your brew.

The foamy head lives on…by the way.

There are three more Glutenberg flagships that I have yet to get my hands on. A blonde, a red, and a white ale. Have you had the opportunity to taste them? What did you think? Let me know by shooting me an email or direct message on any social channel.

In fact, I’ll take it one step further…

Do you live in Canada and have access to their seasonal or Canada-only beers? Check out our contact page to learn how you could submit a guest review to Best Gluten Free Beers! We have published some wonderful guest reviews in the recent past, including taproom reviews for Holidaily Brewing in Colorado, and Aurochs Brewing in Pennsylvania. Let’s get some more Canadian beers on the blog!

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P.S. Like what I do for the gluten free beer community? Consider buying me a beer for my efforts! ;)