Horse and Dray

Name: New Planet Pale Ale

Style: American Pale Ale (Gluten Free)

IBU: 45

ABV: 6.4%

“New Planet Beer’s Pale Ale – Formerly Off Grid Pale Ale – is reminiscent of a classic American Pale Ale, offering bold hop character and rich caramel and grapefruit notes with a clean yet distinctly hoppy finish.”

I will be honest up front, I am not a fan of Gluten Free beers, however I had a couple in my fridge, so I decided why not do a review one of them. The beer poured nicely into my new Teku Glasses with a beautiful amber color and a nice layer of white head. The beer smelled of floral hops and molasses. The taste hits you with floral hops up early followed by an overwhelming bitterness which lingers well after the sip is over which I assume is from the sorghum as it almost grassy tasting. The mouthful is thin to medium and finishes dry like many other gluten free beers. I have to say this beer is not for me probably due to the sorghum used in the brewing process which makes it almost like a sweet session IPA.

I will give this beer credit, it does only use gluten free ingredients unlike other “gluten free/gluten reduced” beers like Omission which use a gluten removal process from ingredients that naturally have gluten in them. I do have to admit, I haven’t tried a large number of gluten free beers and the ones I have tried were beers made with the gluten removal process. However, I have to be honest, I probably wouldn’t buy this beer again, but I don’t have a gluten allergy. If you are alright with the high level of bitterness and sweetness feel free to try it, but I don’t think it is a beer for most people.