Redbridge Vs. New Grist

[GeoffCJ]

After my joy in finding Redbridge a little over a week ago, imagine the elation I felt when I found New Grist at a Henry's in southern California.

I was doubly surprised when I found that I prefer the Redbridge. AB over a microbrew? the former beer snob in me was flabbergasted, but it just tastes better to me. Less of a sake/rice flavor than the New Grist.

Side by side on the shelf, I choose Redbridge, but that being said, I'd be happy to drink either!

Geoff

[Nancym]

I haven't had New Grist but I have had Bards Tale and Redbridge. I preferred Bards Tale, it was one of the best beers I remember having. I really liked it. Redbridge is ok, kind of reminds me of others beers I've had that were "different" but didn't really thrill me.

[whitball]

I initially really liked New Grist. I drank so much of it, I think that I could qualify as having stock in the company. I have found that rice causes problems for me, so I tried Redbridge. Pretty good stuff. The great thing is, it is sold in most of the stores that I shop at!

[Murph]

1st one I came upon was Bard's Tale. Such excitement after the years w/out beer. But even tho I've like bitter beers in the past, I found it far more bitter than any decent bitter beer should be. And it was $13 at the local Whole Foods!

Redbridge was next and tho I don't love it it's pretty good. Yay! ($8)

Then I was surprised to run into New Grist and was pretty excited as I'd heard many good things about it. I found it pretty good except for a strange after-taste. (Actually a little b4 an after-taste but I don't know what to call that) I think it was ~$10.

So I'm mostly sticking w/ Redbridge, tho I'll try some New Grist again.

Incredible to me after decades as a beer connisseur that Anheuser-Busch now makes my preferred beer LOL.

[pnltbox27]

sure is great to complain about beer taste again isnt it???our lives become a little more normal every day

[holdthegluten]

  GeoffCJ said:

After my joy in finding Redbridge a little over a week ago, imagine the elation I felt when I found New Grist at a Henry's in southern California.

I was doubly surprised when I found that I prefer the Redbridge. AB over a microbrew? the former beer snob in me was flabbergasted, but it just tastes better to me. Less of a sake/rice flavor than the New Grist.

Side by side on the shelf, I choose Redbridge, but that being said, I'd be happy to drink either!

Geoff

was it at henrys pub in SD

[GeoffCJ]

  holdthegluten said:

was it at henrys pub in SD

No. Henry's the grocery store.

Geoff

[GeoffCJ]

  pnltbox27 said:

sure is great to complain about beer taste again isnt it???our lives become a little more normal every day

Not complaining! At this point, talking about differences in beer flavor is like comparing ferraris and lamborginis, I'm thrilled with either. Just a slight preference for Redbridge!

Geoff

[nmw]

Redbridge beats New Grist, but I'm not complaining!

I love beer and beer loves me whether or not I'm gluten free!

[GeoffCJ]

One thing that really surprised me was that New Grist doesn't mention gluten-free ANYWHERE on the packaging. Now I'm going to recheck the redbridge, but I can't remember if it does.

And there is no ingredient list either. It made me nervous, and if I hadn't heard about it here, I certainly would have never, ever bought it. Really surprising.

[UR Groovy]

Redbridge, for sure. New Grist has that strange aftertaste, and it's a bit too frothy for me.

My guess would be that they don't label it gluten free because they don't want to discourage the general public from trying it. I would guess they are aware that people who are gluten free either already know about it, or will soon (by advertising). I've noticed that too, and that's the only conclusion I can come to.

[pnltbox27]

bad choice of words "complaing" i just think its cool to get to talk about beer again .............sorry about that

[pnltbox27]

when i first found gluten free beer at the local liqour store the owner let me buy individual bottles of redbridge, bard tale, and new grist. i liked new grist better for the first few weeks, but now i find myself going for the redbridge. i suppose ill keep the new grist to boil bratwurst in. beer brats are the best

[Murph]

My Redbridge bottle's label says "made without wheat or barley" on it. (Admittedly not as concise as "gluten-free", but we all know those 2 are the only possible culprits - at least in any beer I've seen - oops except an occasional Oatmeal Stout)

And I thought the New Grist 6pk package lists the 4 or 5 ingred, perhaps w/ the word "only". (Wish I hadn't already tossed it)

  GeoffCJ said:

One thing that really surprised me was that New Grist doesn't mention gluten-free ANYWHERE on the packaging. Now I'm going to recheck the redbridge, but I can't remember if it does.

And there is no ingredient list either. It made me nervous, and if I hadn't heard about it here, I certainly would have never, ever bought it. Really surprising.

[Random Guy]

i've only had the bards tale

the first time i had it, it brought tears to my eyes - it's that good

ahhhhhhhhhhh

[GeoffCJ]

  Murph said:

My Redbridge bottle's label says "made without wheat or barley" on it. (Admittedly not as concise as "gluten-free", but we all know those 2 are the only possible culprits - at least in any beer I've seen - oops except an occasional Oatmeal Stout)

And I thought the New Grist 6pk package lists the 4 or 5 ingred, perhaps w/ the word "only". (Wish I hadn't already tossed it)

I looked twice, and so did my friend, and we couldn't see it. It says made with Sorghum and Rice on the label, but not "only". And I know there is other stuff in there.

Being unique, and clearly aimed at a niche (us) you'd think they'd make it a little more clear. I knew it to be gluten-free, and I still doubted and second guessed whether to buy it. Imagine someone who'd not familiar, and Gluten-free. they'd never do it.

Strange.

Geoff

[Murph]

Oh I agree totally. Surprised gluten-free not mentioned.

The New Grist bottle's label says sorghum , rice extract, but I swear the 6pk carrier said more. I remember yeast for one and thought it made it clear that the 4 or 5 ingreds listed were all it had.

Now I know I'll be compelled to look closely next time I'm @ the right store.

(Loved your prose in the other gluten-free beer post btw hehe) And the kayaking must be a blast. I've done a little, but my brother used to actually kayak to work, up in Valdez AK, to get to a Chem Engr job.

[GeoffCJ]

  Murph said:

Oh I agree totally. Surprised gluten-free not mentioned.

The New Grist bottle's label says sorghum , rice extract, but I swear the 6pk carrier said more. I remember yeast for one and thought it made it clear that the 4 or 5 ingreds listed were all it had.

Now I know I'll be compelled to look closely next time I'm @ the right store.

I've got the pack at home. I'll check again.

  Murph said:

(Loved your prose in the other gluten-free beer post btw hehe) And the kayaking must be a blast. I've done a little, but my brother used to actually kayak to work, up in Valdez AK, to get to a Chem Engr job.

You should do it more. That and my wife and family are what gets me out of bed in the morning. If you're interested, you can see tons of pictures here:

Open Original Shared Link

[tokceliac]

I snatched it right up at the liquor store remembering it from Lakefront's website. I also noticed no "gluten free" indication on it when I got it home, just the ingredients listed on the carrier "Contains only Sorghum and Rice Extract, Yeast, Water, and Hops." After surfing, I found out that apparently, neither New Grist or Redbridge are labeling "Gluten Free" awaiting clarification from US Government as to technicalities of using gluten-free term. However, I have full confidence in Lakefront/New Grist, as they even use a special type of yeast grown on Molasses, and test for gluten before and after fermentation. Plus, they already have a certified "organic" beer, which shows they have an idea of special requirements. I'd be interested in seeing the "pedigree" of Redbridge, I'm not exactly a cross-contamination nut, but would have to imagine much more likely w/ Redbridge than New Grist, especially in the raw ingredients.

OK, now, the good stuff:

Having been an AVID beer drinker pre-diagnosis (sampled well over 600 different brews as of 2003) I have had the oppurtunity to try now both Redbridge and New Grist, which I am drinking as I type, so pardon any typos

Both are good, surprisingly "beery" after having spent the last 4 years drinking various ciders to try and offset my beer desire. The two beers couldn't be more different though. New Grist tends to be light, slightly sweet, taste (and aroma) of honey and lemon, very light on the hops, lots of yeast and definite sorghum aftertaste (the main drawback of the beer.) It tends to have a bit of "sharp" carbonation (I'm assuming due to the sorghum/rice mixture), whereas Redbridge is a bit smoother. But New Grist is a solid summer brew, the closest thing I can compare it to is Sam Adams Summer Brew, which is just a touch spicy and has a definite lemon zest note to it. New Grist is considerably less hoppy though.

Redbridge is very malty/hoppy, almost a bit smoky. Very close to Irish Red in style and taste. Think Killians Red, but a bit heavier and much more flavorful. Murphys Red would be as close as possible in style.

Both brews have a sorghum aftertaste, which may explain several mainstream reviews of having a "syrupy" finish (you get the feeling the back of your tongue is coated), for those of you that have made heavily sorghum based bread, the aftertaste is very similar w/ New Grist.

In full disclosure, I do live in Oklahoma, which presents a problem. Redbridge is only available at 3.2% ABV, which will take the edge off any beer (and by edge I mean taste, not alcohol-well, both, actually!) New Grist comes in at 5% ABV, and therefore, is full bodied as far as flavor, no watering down or early removal from fermentation. Also, in my pre-diagnosis days, I always loved the Belgian Wit and Unfiltered American Wheats, which New Grist is at least in the ballpark of.

So, final thought...New Grist by a nose in the hot months, vice versa in the colder months. However, I'm looking forward to sampling Dragon's Gold (Bards Tale) in the near future, and really hope that the (relative) explosion of gluten-free beers in Europe, Australia, and Canada will make their way to the US soon. After all, variety is the spice of life!

Jeremy

tokceliac