“The possibilities are endless,” TWØBAYS Head Brewer Kristian Martin says of gluten free beer – less than two months after moving over from brewing ‘barley beer’.
“We use ‘traditional’ beer styles as a guide, but we’re not trying to replicate them. We’re creating new ways of showcasing great malts and expressing different flavours."
Kristian and brewer Ajay Hill (both pictured below with CEO and Founder), are pushing boundaries in the Australian Gluten Free Craft Beer market – mostly only US gluten free breweries have explored the growing category further.
"Our creativity is not inhibited – in fact the limitations drive us to test the malts to their full potential,” adds Kristian.
“For example, the nutty flavour in our Red Ale is a result of specialty millet malt we used – and we didn’t hide that. We created a great beer around it.”
Since opening Australia’s first dedicated gluten free Brewery and Taproom in December 2018, the Victorian brewery has put 27 different gluten free beers through its taps.
But brewing with millet and other gluten free grains is nothing new. Archaeologists recently recreated a 5,000 year-old millet-based beer recipe that was discovered in China. And there are actually more naturally gluten free grains available to us than there are grains that contain gluten.
| 'Traditional' beer choices! | Gluten Free beer choices! |
| Barley | Millet |
| Wheat | Buckwheat |
| Rye | Rice |
| Oats | Quinoa |
| Maize | |
| Sorghum | |
| Amaranth | |
| Teff |
One hurdle is that no one in Australia commercially malts the gluten free grains TWØBAYS chooses to use, but Founder and CEO Richard Jeffares overcame that problem when he signed an exclusivity deal to be the sole importer of malts from the United States to Australia.
“We have to be organised!” says Jeffares.
“We can’t just decide we’re going to try a Red Ale one day and brew it the next, because it can take up to three months to get the malts across the Pacific.”
But that doesn’t stop TWØBAYS from doing what they like to best – exploring the best gluten free beer.
It’s not just gluten free malt that creates new opportunities to explore!
Hops are naturally gluten free, so there are no limitations there, but the liquid yeast most brewers use often contains gluten – so TWØBAYS can currently only use dried yeast.
The range of yeast available dried is increasing rapidly though, and gluten-free liquid yeast has just become available commercially in the United States.
“The beer profile combinations are endless, especially with the rate at which new gluten free ingredients are becoming available,” Kristian said.
“We’re responsive to what's happening out there, and these yeasts have only become available to the beer world as a whole in the last two years. So, there’s a whole load of fun to be had.”
Which beers has TWØBAYS released in cans to date?
- Pale Ale (Core Range)
- IPA (Core Range)
- XPA (Core Range)
- Ollie’s Hoppy Brown Ale
- No Man's Land XPA
- Breakaway Summer Ale
- Mosaic Session IPA
- Red Rocks Red Ale
- Pulp Fusion Passionfruit Sour
“There are more releases in the works for the next six months,” says Jeffares.
“But you’ll have to wait and see what they are! Let’s just say that one is a beer we’ve been asked for a lot – and has done very well in the Taproom. The other is a big step into the unknown for gluten free beer in Australia – and we have received many requests from our customers asking us to brew their favourite beer style.”
“That’s what we want to do at TWØBAYS. We want to create an opportunity for everyone to be able to explore a new world of beer, brewed with grains other than barley, wheat, rye and oats – which 99.9% of the other breweries across the world use. We don’t think it’s fair that people in Australia should miss out on the true Aussie craft beer experience, just because they avoid gluten.”
Richard's inspiration for the TWØBAYS Taproom came from the in-brewery tasting venues he experienced in the US. And with nine taps dedicated to our own gluten free beer (there is no other beer sold in the venue – just cider, wine and soft drinks), there is plenty of opportunity to explore different styles.
Which beers has TWØBAYS had on tap at its craft beer Taproom?
| Core Range Pale Ale | Gose Against |
| Experilentil Mid-Strength | Free Range Saison |
| Little Arthur’s Mid-Strength | Citrain Saison (GABS 2019 Beer) |
| Breakaway Summer Ale | Core Range IPA |
| Lager 1.0 | Hairy Legs IPA |
| Lager than Life | Eddy Belgian IPA |
| Pilsner 1.0 | Mosaic IPA |
| Czech Mate Pilsner | Red Rocks Red Ale |
| Victoria Pale Ale | Local Knowledge Extra Special Bitter |
| New Lens Pale Ale | London Road Brown Ale |
| No Man’s Land XPA | Ollie’s Hoppy Brown Ale |
| Core Range XPA | Darkside Porter |
| Mosaic Session IPA | ØØ8 Double IPA |
“We’re in a unique position here that Australian food standards are the safest in the world," said Jeffares.
"If a beer is brewed with malts that contain gluten; it cannot be called gluten free. It forces us to experiment with different gluten free malts, beer styles and flavours – and we love it. We’re taking our fans on a journey of exploration through a craft beer world that they could not access before we started it. And the fun is only just beginning.”
"As a team, we get really excited about beer styles that 'haven’t been done before' – it’s not a hurdle that scares us. Quite the opposite, it inspires our brewing team to be the first in Australia – or even in the world – to brew particular styles."
The craft beer taproom in Dromana on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula also serves gluten free pizza, and the brewery offers fresh gluten free beer delivery across Australia.
The beers are available in great Independent bottle shops and venues across the country (including some on tap). The selection of Gluten Free Beer Dan Murphy’s sells is growing – and our Pale Ale is now available in their stores nationally, with our IPA in selected stores around Melbourne.
Selected BWS, Liquorland, First Choice and Vintage Cellars stores also sell our beer.
