The UK’s first dedicated gluten-free microbrewery has secured distribution with a number of country-wide operators. Edinburgh’s Bellfield Brewery, which was founded by coeliac Alistair Brown and Giselle Dye, whose husband is also coeliac, supplies two gluten-free beers. Lawless Village IPA and Bohemian Pilsner, have been taken on by several distributors including Craft Beer Clan Scotland, Gordon & MacPhail, Green City, Food and Drink Hub for Scotland and Inverarity Morton.
The beers are accredited by Coeliac UK and feature the ‘crossed grain’ symbol, which shows that they are suitable for those who are intolerant to gluten. One in 100 people are gluten intolerant. Most coeliacs tend to avoid beers due to their barley or wheat grain contents; however, gluten-free beers are usually made using alternative grains and grasses.
The brewery has secured listings in more than 100 bars, pubs and restaurants after only four months in the trade, and is the only exclusively gluten-free craft brewery to brew all of its products in the UK.
Brewer and brewery manager Kieran Middleton said: “We had a tremendous response to our first two beers,”
“People have really embraced the fact that we were founded by coeliacs and that we’re committed to producing only gluten-free beers.
“We’re not interested in producing gluten-free versions of bland lagers and beers at industrial scale. Our beers are small-batch, hand-crafted and gluten-free, without the need to add anything,”
“We are continuing to see momentum building in the demand for gluten-free food and drink, both in the UK and internationally, and our new distribution partners will help us to fulfil this demand.
“The brewery is investing heavily in research and development and we’re hoping to bring new beers to the market in the coming months.”
The company hopes the new agreements will allow the beers to reach drinkers across the UK and overseas.
