Harvester Beer

A wonderful reader read my page on gluten free beers and suggested a new one called Harvester. I was planning on asking my local health food store if they could try to get it in, since I've never heard of it before. My husband ran up to the store, and what a surprise: a big display of the new gluten free beer in stock: Harvester! Wonderful!

They have 4 selections and are brewed in Portland, OR in a dedicated gluten free brewery.
I was so excited to try these and I must say, they didn't disappoint!
The selections are:
IPA
Red Ale
Dark
Pale Ale

I think these are probably the closest gluten free beers have come to tasting like a traditional beer. They are a bit expensive, but the bottles are large and they satisfy the want of a "real" beer, so I think it makes them worth it.

The Pale Ale was very light and refreshing. Probably excellent for people like me who like a lighter option or for a hot summer day. The taste was so light that I almost couldn't taste anything when I had something a bit heavier first. I won't make that mistake again.

The IPA was slightly heavier and tasted great.

The Red Ale was much heavier and had more depth as well as a chocolatey taste. I enjoyed this beer, but couldn't have had more than one since it was a bit much for me in terms of taste.

The Dark Ale is a surprising favorite! It's much lighter than you might think with how dark the color is, but they brew with roasted chestnuts to create an amazing flavor that I love.

The also started doing seasonal brews, which you should keep an eye out for. I loved the Experiment Ale that was out most recently. It's a Dubbel dark style, I believe.

I highly recommend trying these beers! Thank you to the reader who suggested them! Much appreciated. I plan to go to the tasting room on my next trip to Portland, OR.
Cheers!

Pizza Reviews

I absolutely adore pizza. I crave pizza. All the time. I'm always willing to go out to the few places here in Spokane that have GF crust. And I will always drive over to Coeur D'Alene, ID to go to the Northwest Pizza Company (formerly Garlic Jim's).

The pizza at Northwest Pizza is great! They have kept all of the same standards as far as ensuring there is no cross contamination from the gluten containing pizza. There is also GF beer and Coca-Cola products, so I'm in heaven. The owner, Jeff, had to change a few things when becoming his own pizza joint and breaking free of the Garlic Jim's Franchise. Most of those were good changes, like improving products used so that he could use items he feels are superior in taste and ingredients. One thing I wish he would improve on, is the pizza sauce, it's a little bland. The overall pizza is great, the sauce just seems to be lacking in flavor a little.

Another place that we go to on occasion is Bennidito's here in Spokane. They are hit or miss. Sometimes, they are completely sold out of GF crust, so I'm just out of luck, which is super annoying. It happens pretty frequently. Other times, I almost wonder if they just gave me regular crust because I get sick. I feel like I can't depend on them to have my crust and I'm risking getting sick whenever I go there, so it's low on my list of places to go.

South Perry Pizza is another option in Spokane. My husband says the regular pizza is mediocre and I think the GF pizza is ok, it's just kind of a sweet tasting crust.

The Flying Goat is hands down my favorite pizza place in Spokane! They have gluten free beer choices as well. (currently New Planet and Dogfish Head) My husband loves the regular pizza and the extensive regular beer list. Our 2 year old loves it too and requests going there often.

Another newer option here is Five Mile Heights Pizza. Very good gluten free pizza and GF beer. Regular pizza is pretty good too. It's a very family friendly place, reminding me of a lower scale "Chucky Cheese" type of place, with video games and lots of long tables for large groups. I do think it's a bit expensive though.

I always check the freezer case for new frozen pizzas. It's not my favorite solution, and most of the options aren't great and are very expensive, but it will do in a pinch.
A favorite, if I have time, is to make my dough from the pizza crust mix by Gluten Free Mama. It's pretty easy and good.
I just tried a new frozen pizza. Its called Bella Monica Flatbread company's Gluten Free All-Natural Pizza. It is a 10" personal pizza with pepperoni and was about $9. It's not good. Way overpriced and tasted like a glorified cracker. If there hadn't been cheese and sauce to give it flavor, it would have been a dry, flavorless crispy cracker. I'm not impressed.

Beer!

I've started a few pages that offer different information. I will update those regularly.
The first to check out is about gluten free beer and hard cider.

I will do my best with descriptions on this part, but I must say, I was diagnosed at 11 years old, so I don't have a heck of a lot to compare these beers to. Mostly, I can just list all the options and some bits of info. You just might have to drink a few to know if you like them!

About Me

I am a stay at home Mom and I've decided to start a gluten free informational blog. I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 1991. That's what I like to call "The Dark Ages of Gluten Free Information." There was so little information available to us at that time. The internet wasn't really available. There were very few companies making gluten free foods. Getting a meal in a restaurant was a big gamble because not only were there no gluten free menus, but even finding a chef who knew what gluten was, was rare. It was a lot of very plain, very boring pieces of chicken or steak and plain veggies. Yuck.

After living successfully gluten free for 21+ years, I have tried most of the gluten free foods on the shelves, bought many gluten free books, and eaten thousands of meals out.

Many newly diagnosed people are overwhelmed with the idea of a gluten free lifestyle. They see it as an impossible task and often "cheat" on their diet, resulting in getting sick. I feel that cheating is completely unnecessary and I've never purposefully eaten gluten since my diagnosis. I am quite aware that cross contamination happens, probably more than we would prefer, but it will sometimes. It isn't necessary to take the fun out of life and socialization by deciding that eating out at a restaurant isn't possible. Instead, you should take control of your life by arming yourself with knowledge. You are able to eat at one of the many restaurants that now offer gluten free menus. This is a wonderful thing for us. Also, many places may not have a gluten free menu specifically, but any chef worth his salt will know what gluten is and be able to make you a delicious meal that is safe. All you have to do is ASK!

I plan on reviewing products, new and old, and writing about my experiences good and bad eating out. I hope I can help someone navigate the gluten free lifestyle. I am not a doctor or nutritionist, but I do like to think of myself as a living expert on gluten free living and eating delicious foods.