Ground Breaker Brewing 99 Light Lager

Gluten Free Light Lager (Only 92 calories!)

Ground Breaker’s Low Calorie Light Lager

Well here we are back at the tasting table. This month has been a little light on reviews because for the first time in nearly 2 and a half years…I got sick. I was beginning to think I was immune to it, but Covid finally got me. I recovered in a few days time, but I took a little extra time off from alcohol to give my immune system a break. But now I’m baaaaack, and ready to taste some beer.

I’m reviewing a gluten free lager tonight. This may very well be the lightest beer I’ve ever had from Ground Breaker Brewing. I feel like they pursue the darker ales more frequently, but the tide is turning. The country’s first dedicated gluten free brewery recently dropped a new release in 12 ounce cans. It’s called the 99 Light Lager. It has a 3.5% ABV and just 92 calories per can.

The 99 Light is brewed with rice malt, millet malt, sorghum, and flaked quinoa. It is also the newest addition to Ground Breaker Brewing’s year-round lineup. That’s right…a permanent light lager you can drink in any season. I know many of you crave these.

Here’s a recording of 99 Light Lager’s pour. Feel free to breeze past that to read up on my experience with this gluten free lager and browse some closeups of the glass visual. While they may feel few and far between, there are other dedicated gluten free lagers out there. I’ll drop a couple links at the bottom for other GF lagers I’ve reviewed in the past.

The Taste Test

99 Light Lager

The 99 Light Lager pours with a rocky head that lingers, and extremely high clarity. It has a golden color, significant carbonation activity, and its glass appeal is thirst-inducing. All in all, this beer pours exactly how you might want it to on a 80 degree day. (Hel-lo summer, so glad you’re finally here!)

I’m mostly picking up malty notes on the nose, and there’s a crispness to the aroma that perfectly matches the first taste. As you might imagine, this lager is light and crisp, but it’s not empty and flavorless. The malt profile of quinoa, millet and rice provide enough character for the flavor profile to keep this light lager interesting.

The most notable characteristic of this 99 Light is its texture. It is as light as it gets, with a strong carbonation buzz and bright mouthfeel. This is the best river beer that Ground breaker has ever released. Its low ABV combined with its light body make it the perfect beer for marathon lake days and river floats.

When you take your first sip of the 99 Light Lager, you’re met with texture…and a lot of it. It isn’t until around mid palate that you begin to detect the faint grain flavors behind the fizz. A little of that stays on the tongue, but other than that, the palate feels pretty cleared between each sip. No bitterness in this gluten free lager.

I know there is a huge population of people that are on the forever-search to replace their former go-to light beer. For many years, there wasn’t much out there. But by making this 99 Light Lager a year round offering, Ground Breaker has made sure you never have to go thirsty on a hot summer day again. Reminder that Ground Breaker distributes as far as the northeast U.S., so you don’t have to be in Oregon to enjoy this gluten free lager.

But for those of you who don’t have access to Ground Breaker beers, here are a few other gluten free lagers I’ve reviewed on Best Gluten Free Beers:

• Aurochs Brewing Light Lager (Pennsylvania)
• Ghostfish Brewing Märzen Attacks Lager (Washington)
• Bierly Brewing Ganz Vienna Lager (Oregon)
• Ground Breaker Brewing Amber Lager (Oregon)
• Neff Brewing Houston We Have A Problem Mexican Lager (Oklahoma)
• Rolling Mill Brewing Co. Two Goldens American Lager (Ohio)

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