Cider and Beer Review part duex

At dinner tonight our friend mentioned that we had a new brew shop in town that also had gluten free beers. Our curiosity peaked, my husband and I drove straight there and immediately grabbed a cart. I made my way past my long lost loves, the Belgians, through the one night stand section (the high alcohol content that you can only consume one of before running the risk of waking up face down in the gutter with a splitting headache) and all the way to a bottom shelf with a half row of gluten free varieties. Before I would have looked at this and said, is that all there is? Now, I go sweet! I have options! How sad is that?

First thing I had to try was the Oliver Winery Beanblossom Peach Hard Cider for $4 a bottle. This is their description:

"Beanblossom Peach Hard Cider

Brand: Oliver
Size: 500 ml - 100% Recyclable Aluminum Bottles
Apple Wine with Natural FlavorWe've captured the essence of our favorite stone fruit and blended it to perfection with fresh, gently-pressed Midwestern apples.  Exceptionally delicious, perfectly refreshing."

...and here is mine. You know that juice that surrounds a bunch of peaches from a snack pack or a can? Take that juice and make it 8% alcohol. There you have it. Now I don't mean to come off saying this in a bad way but that is the truth of it. It totally tastes exactly like canned peach juice. Perhaps peach juice that had a little romp with Boone's Farm . I don't think the makers would be too sad about that appraisal considering their artwork on the bottles. They are eye catching and certainly amusing. So is alcoholic canned peach juice a bad thing? No. I don't think so. Ciders can tend to be a little watery or have a sour apple pucker that doesn't feel refined. Some of the better ones are dry or fruity but usually don't exactly taste like anything in particular. This says peach and you get peach. I kind of like that. It is sort of like buying a fuzzy navel, without the malt beverage part. I give it a thumbs up. This would be perfect packed in a picnic basket or while floating down the river. 

Next stop: Brunehaut Ales. 

The brunehaut ales were so good I stopped twice to have my husband double check their web site to make sure they were in fact gluten free. That, to me, is a good sign. Both of the Brunehaut beers did not mention being gluten free on the bottle but had an anti-wheat symbol on top. Otherwise anybody could have opened one of these and been none the wiser. Both poured perfectly and formed a nice head which settled down but didn't die out. They were carbonated nicely but didn't leave me singing "tiny bubbles" with hiccups from over-carbonation. The Blond Ale was full bodied and didn't taste like a sorghum nightmare which is a nice change from the majority of gluten free beers. I followed the blond up with the Brunehaut Amber and was once again transported to my glutenous days. Ah, a real beer. Tasty and filled with the promise of a good evening. The amber was slightly spicy with a caramel flavoring. There was the tiniest hint of citrus which lightened it and made it a beer that I would gladly drink more than one of in an evening. I have to say that these beers were so good that I actually forgot for the entire evening that I was drinking anything other than my old favorites. I have to say that the best part of gluten free beer is not waking up feeling my head was pressed by a vice after only one beer. For that, I am ever so grateful to the makers of these beers.

Last, and certainly least, St.Peter's second attempt to make me its friend. 

Back in Minnesota I had my first attempt to rate this lovely bottle. It failed miserably due to some serious skunkage. Like pop the top and make the bitter beer face just from smelling it kind of skunkage. This bottle, while not skunked, was certainly not much better. A friend drank the majority of this one and her comments were: "Tastes like rotten OJ" and "I would drink it again if it was the only thing in the fridge."  So, if that is your standard of go ahead and buy it, purchase away! As for me, I will abstain since I can certainly fill my refrigerator with more palatable brews.