So I figured while was at this whole Gluten free thing, I should test the waters on what I’d consider a tricky area for folks with true Gluten sensitivities: beers.  Now obviously this smacks right in the center of the problem area, that beers’ primary ingredients are wheat, barley, and rye.

Some quick reading on the topic shows that – as usual – this is an area open for debate, and that some beers (Corona for example) have only trace amounts of Gluten and for *some* people, it doesn’t pose a problem.

Debate aside, I went searching at Trader Joes and picked up a tall-boy of Green’s Amber Ale and a 6-pack of Redbridge Red Lager.  Both *terrible* beers.  Not undrinkable.  But to a steady beer drinker, not a good flavor at all.  You can read about the different types of sorghum and how gluten free beer ferments differently.  Which seems obvious, given that you’re removing one of the main ingredients.  Also obvious that you’d expect a much different flavor.  They are a little sweeter, feel a lot less carbonated, and – I dunno – they are tough to get used to, to say the least.

I asked a few friends at local Venice, CA haunts like Gjelina and The Tasting Kitchen and they recommended one called Brunehaut Amber Ale.  I recommend it.  It’s a Belgium beer and retains a lot of the same flavors as its Gluten containing cousins.  Redbridge is made by Anheuser-Busch which shouldn’t immediately disqualify it, but you do get the impression this beer was a marketing after-thought.

In any case, do your homework, and in doing so you usually learn a lot about what you personally like and which flavors appeal to you.  With any luck, youll find a good combination that’ll have you slogging about with your dive-bar hopping friends.

So I had my first alcohol-present social outing on Sunday at friend’s Super Bowl party.  I’ve commented earlier that social settings can tend to be more tricky because you’re generally focusing on the social aspect, time can be tight, and often times you’re not in control of the food options.  Easy enough to avoid burger buns, fried potato chips, and candy…but a beer-less Super Bowl?  This was gonna be tough.

I’d been reading a lot beforehand and so I figured I’d stick with martini’s.  With potato vodka mind you, regular vodka is made with wheat.  This is a good trick, avoids the inevitable awkward “so you’re not drinking?” type questions, and also, you get really good and mixing a perfect martini.  Ciroc, by the way, is a potato based vodka, but I didn’t notice that the Ciroc bottle was a vanilla vodka, so my first martini was vanilla with olives and vermouth.  Advice: if this happens to you, eat the olives early, vanilla infused olives are gross.  Second martini, I went with Monopolowa vodka.  Much better.

One thing you’ll need to work on though is PACING.  Beers are low in alcohol content and are pretty filling, so you can drink 3 or 4 socially and be in pretty good shape.  Not the case with martinis!!  I am in rough shape today after drinking straight vodka for 6 hours.  So sip slow and take in water when you can.

Gluten free beers are a good alternative and Trader Joes has a really good selection of them.  Gluten free wheat alternatives are much more varied so the range of flavors in these beers is bound to be much more diverse.  Expect a post soon about Beer.  Not today though, I am all advil, all water for the next 8 hours.

Man, so here I am thinking I’m being good.  A bunch of us were working late and someone offered to buy food and sushi came up as.   Which sounded like a safe option, and kind of appealing since I’d be abstaining from even fish all January long.

But as it turns out, Soy Sauce actually contains Gluten!  This is tough one.  Some soy sauces come gluten free, but you have to search.  If you’re out, you can check the ingredients of the soy sauce at the restaurant you’re at – assuming its even posted – or even if the owners know the right answer (most places just refill their bottles with whatever they have that day).

Another option is that you find a place that has a special attention for this sort of thing.  This is the problem WhatsGood is trying to crack.  Open our app, seach by Sushi, keep your Gluten filter on, and only see results were you’re safe or where workarounds are available.

Cool right?  Cuz look, I’m not yet prepared to go sushi-free.

So after 2 days as a Gluten-free connesuir, I am here to report that this is some advanced shit.  Avoiding gluten isn’t as straightforward as avoiding meat.  Its in almost all breads, tortialls, pastries, beer (ouch), and whiskeys.  And it doesn’t stop there.  Some breaded fried foods even contain gluten.

So in 2 days, I’ve already slipped twice.  Being on-the-go is especially tough.  Social situations, business meetings, and new places are all tough.  Its generally that you have to make a decision quick and don’t necessarily know what you’re walking into.

This is really the use case we designed WhatsGood around: a guy walks into a restaurant, he should know within 10 seconds whats good, bad, or secret about the place, what the crowd thinks is best, and exactly which dishes meet your exact personal requirements.  If you’re avoiding carbs, beefing up at the gym, a raw foodie, or if you have a severe food allergy like nuts or shellfish….you should know this stuff right away.

Anyways, pitch aside, Gluten is a tough one.  And we’re trying to figure how to make it easy for you if that’s what you’re avoiding.  More on this in upcoming posts.