Ep. 27 - Karen Hertz & Brian Kulbacki on the State of Gluten Free Beer

The interview for this week's episode was recorded only about a month ago, but it was a simpler time.
At the regular table at the (now temporarily closed) Blind Tiger Ale House in New York City host John Holl sat down with two brewers and owners of breweries specializing in gluten free beer.

Karen Hertz, the owner of Holidaily Brewing Company in Colorado was in the city for a women in beer event hosted by the Brewers Association. Holidaily is a dedicated gluten free brewery that has been working to change the perception of what gluten free means in beer.

Now most long time beer drinkers can tell you all about the good, bad, and strange of gluten free beers. A decade ago, it was the sorghum ales made by the big breweries, and then we started to see others, like Omission, part of the Craft Brew Alliance, make inroads. Other breweries, like Dogfish Head, tried making them with honey and there were other attempts along the way.

Some drink gluten free beer because of dietary sensitivities or lifestyle choices. Others just because they enjoy it. Overall the nature of gluten free beer has changed in the last several years and there are a handful of breweries that are working hard to change past perceptions and to bring these beers into the mainstream consciousness of all drinkers.

We decided to get check on the current state of gluten free beers, so with Hertz in town, Drink Beer, Think Beer asked Brian Kulbacki of Departed Soles in Jersey City to cross the Hudson River and join us at that corner table at the Tiger so they could both share perspective, give insight to how their breweries operate, and how they approach recipe development.

The conversation starts in broad terms and narrows in from there. We hope you leave the end of this show a better informed drinker, we sure did.

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• Host: John Holl
• Guests: Karen Hertz and Brian Kulbacki
• Tags: beer, craft beer, New Jersey, gluten free beers, Holidaily Brewing Company, Departed Soles