The Uinta Brewing Free Form Project

The Gluten Free program at Uinta started off as a challenge. Our R&D team was tasked with crafting a beer that first and foremost tasted great but “just so happened to be gluten free.” We sampled a variety of sorghum beers only to be disappointed with the characteristic unpleasant flavor of this ingredient. It wasn’t until we were introduced to malted millet and buckwheat that we begin to believe a great tasting gluten free beer was even possible.

Many months were spent brewing and testing iteration after iteration of GF beers using sweet potatoes, malted rice, molasses, brown rice, and even quinoa that never ended up meeting the high standard and quality of flavor we hold at Uinta.

We finally came across malted millet which produced a beer that was an immediate success in our taste panels, gaining acceptance by even some of our most critical tasters.
The Quality Control lab at Uinta takes its gluten testing very seriously and utilizes a Gluten-Tox® testing system to analyze every batch of product we brew as well as the various surfaces the beer may touch on the way to the filler. We even send a sample of each packaging run out for third party testing to validate our in-house analysis. So far, we have yet to test above 10 ppm gluten content. Ever.
The Uinta Free Form brands are great examples of quality gluten free products. Our IPA is based on a traditional West Coast recipe offering a bright fruity hop aroma balanced by a light body. The Belgian Blonde is approachable and offers snappy citrus notes complimented by a hint of coriander. The possibilities are endless with these new raw materials we now have available to us. I’m excited to continue to play around with new styles and flavors, making beers that are delicious and “just so happen to be gluten free.”

Contributed by Isaac Winter, Head Brewer, R&D