<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

I've always believed that Milwaukee is the best place to be IF you have to be
gluten free. Our celiac support group dates back to 1982. Cybros Bakery began
making rice bread for us shortly thereafter. Before the Gluten Free Trading
Company, the first all g.f. store in the US, opened it's doors in 2000,
countless ethnic stores supplied the basics. All we were missing was beer, but no
longer.

Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has recently begun making a
barley-free AND gluten-free beer called New Grist. It is made from sorghum and is
labelled  "brewed without barley or wheat." It is a light style beer (think
Budweiser, etc.) with a mild taste, not too sweet or hop-y. It is sold in 6-packs
of bottles.

Russ Klisch, one of the owners, said Lakefront Brewery petitioned and
received approval from the US Goverment (ATF) to sell their product as beer even
though it contains no barley. This makes New Girst the first official gluten-free
beer in the US.  The yeast used is gluten-free, grown on molasses. The other
ingredients are hops and water. The product has been tested for gluten content
using the unfermented wort, since the test used is not reliable on a fermented
product. So far they have made two batches. They are still tweaking their
recipe so there may some variations in the future.

Since Lakefront Brewery brews a variety other traditional beers, their
product line is already part of an established distribution system. Any store that
currently carries Lakefront Brewery products should be able to get New Grist
through their distributor.  The WHERE link www.lakefrontbrewery.com has
information on those places, all in Wisconsin except for a couple cities in Illinois.
Russ mentioned Lakefront had already shipped New Grist to customers outside
of Wisconsin.

I have no financial interest in Lakefront Brewery (or the other businesses
mentioned above)...Just giving celiacs more options to help them maintain their
g.f. lifestyle... (We're already starting to dream of making beer battered
fish and beer cheese soup.)

Holiday Cheer to all!

Bev Lieven, Milwaukee

* Visit the Celiac Web Page at www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html *