The Kansas City beer scene is hopping, but not many are producing gluten-free products. Here are 3 breweries that are gluten-friendly.
🍺 Gluten-free
Martin City Brewing Company’s Operation: Yoga Pants is the only metro-brewed beer that claims to be gluten free — though others contain gluten-free ingredients. Yoga Pants is made with Munich millet, Vienna millet, and buckwheat — all gluten-free grains. It’s labeled as a golden ale with a peach aroma and a bitter finish.
While the beer is marketed as gluten free, the company’s Untappd listing also notes it is “produced on equipment that handles barley and wheat products.”
🍺 “Gluten-friendly”
The Big Rip Brewing Co. in North Kansas City is also making beer without gluten. Their current offering, Fire Tree, is made with fermented sorghum grain extract. They also added honey and flavored the beer with jalapeno, pineapple, and roasted tomatillo.
Bri Burrows, head brewer at The Big Rip Brewing Co., said they can’t guarantee it’s 100% free of gluten since it’s made on the same equipment as other beers. However, she said they have a very rigorous cleaning process.
Their next “gluten-friendly” product will be called Details Later. It will be flavored with apricot, cinnamon, vanilla, and cardamom.
🍺 Gluten-reduced
Blue Springs company Windshift Brewing adds a special enzyme called Brewers Clarex, which stabilizes the product and also eats away the gluten. The brewers add it to every beer that doesn’t rely on a cloudy color, like a hazy IPA.
Brewer and owner Tony DiPlacito said they do this process because his co-owner and wife, Lynn, is gluten intolerant. Tony doesn’t claim to produce gluten-free beers, but he said Lynn and their customers can drink their beers without issue.
Windshift provided KCtoday with a picture of their Okra Corn Lager, made from locally-grown produce.
🍯 Non-beer options
Ciders + meads are also made with gluten-free ingredients. Cinder Block Brewery + City Barrel Brewery + Kitchen usually have several ciders on tap. Kansas City Cider Co. sells in dozens of locations, and Black Labs Craft Meadery operates in Olathe.
