Brewery: Lakefront Brewery, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Beer: New Grist
Serving: 12 oz bottle
Glassware: Lakefront imperial pint
Information: 5.7% ABV, Ideal serving temp: 46–48°F, Bottled during Apr. Wk3. (2012) notched on label.
Style: Gluten-Free Beer
Price: $8.99 / 6-pack
Availability: Year-round
Cellaring: Not recommended for extended aging.
Pairings: “A great pairing with grilled veggies and fish, also very good with a burger and fries.”
Appearance
Heavily carbonated and overly effervescent, New Grist pours out a very pale yellow straw color that’s crystal clear. A fizzy, loose head pops up quickly and descends slowly, vaporizing into extremely loose, cob-web looking lace coating the whole glass in delicate, wispy lacing.
Smell
A hint of cooked rice smell comes across the front, but New Grist mainly consists of a grainy pale malt, straw aroma even though there’s no malt in this beer. A moderate helping of yeastiness appears with a light kiss of hops. For a beer made without malt, it’s certainly not bad at all.
Taste
New Grist has an interesting flavor profile that’s very light. Sweet, light corn with a touch of rice and lots of straw huskiness. No hops on the flavor and very little yeast shine through making it a very simple, easy drinking beer.
Mouthfeel
Heavily carbonated, the bubbles dance on the tongue like champagne. Crisp and refreshing, New Grist is very light-bodied with a smooth finish and light lingering sweetness that begs for another sip.
Overall
Put this in a blind taste against Miller or Bud’s light beers, and this will win hands down. Lakefront astonishes me with their ability to get as close to “beer” flavor while staying gluten free. “A crisp and refreshing session beer” they call it. I couldn’t have put it better myself.
If you’re a person with Celiac Disease, unable to drink regular beer, fret-not, New Grist tastes just like, if not better than, the typical “big dogs” and will tide you over wonderfully.
Score: 83 / 100 - Very Good
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Cheers,
-Andy
