Ground Breaker Makes Beer Without Gluten. And You Might Not Miss It

They’ve won bronze or better in the gluten-free category every year since they started.

(Ground Breaker, Hilary Sander)
By Donald Scheidt
2030 SE 7th Ave., 503-928-4195, groundbreakerbrewing.com. Noon-9 pm Tuesday-Sunday, closed Monday.
At last year’s Great American Beer Festival, Ground Breaker won a gold medal—the kind of achievement many brewers work their whole lives toward. But this was actually the second time they’d done it. In fact, they’ve won bronze or better in the gluten-free category every year since they started.
(Ground Breaker, Hilary Sander)
(Ground Breaker, Hilary Sander)
Owner James Neumeister and his crew have been relentless in researching ingredients to make their gluten-free brews as “beerlike” as possible. Ingredients like chestnuts and lentils serve as stand-ins for more conventional barley, wheat and even oats. Then there’s brown rice, sorghum, apples and even coffee; brewing science goes a long way here. The brewery in back is working full-throttle, so it’s pretty easy to find bottles and cans of Ground Breaker brews at beer shops and grocers. The beers go well with the good-quality pub food—also gluten-free, of course.

Drink this: The Dark Ale has been a gold-medal beer more than once, and IPA No. 5 took silver in 2015.

(Ground Breaker, Hilary Sander)

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