Beer of the week: Bard's Original Sorghum Malt Beer

Beer score: 6.6

Web site: Bard's Tale Beer Company
ABV: 4.6

IBU: 20.5

More and more people are turning to gluten-free products nowadays, so it would seem a natural that eventually there would be a gluten-free beer. But a beer that doesn't include wheat, rye, oats or barley? Yes, it exists in this beverage, Bard's Original Sorghum Malt Beer, which is brewed with 100 percent malted sorghum and is of this writing the only beer to be brewed with 100 percent malted sorghum. Basically, this drink from Utica, New York, is a beer made from sourghum. It also happened to be the first gluten-free beer. But you want to know how this stuff tastes, right? Well, first off, it's style is that of an American lager, just to give you a feel for it. When you pour it into a glass it gives off kind of a sweet burnt sorghum smell that borders on being heavy. The coloring is a light reddish, looking somewhat like a slightly darker version of premium "red" beers. Very wet, almost watery, quite smooth, has a decent head that didn't grow overly large. It tastes stronger than it smells, starting off with that slightly sweet but burnt, almost maple texture that quickly grows into a sturdy bitterness. There's a hint of spices, almost like one of this winter holiday brews. I can't say this is something I will drink on a regular basis, but it was worth trying, and I'd definitely recommend it to those who want to drink beer but have to stick with gluten-free foods and drinks.