TWØBAYS Brewing's national celebration of gluten-free beer, Free the Taps, has returned for a fourth year.
The week-long event sees some 15 different gluten-free beer style appear on tap at several of Australia's finest craft beer bars. You can find out how to enjoy them here, while the media release is below.
Media Release: Australia-Wide Gluten Free Beer Tap Takeover
March 13 - 24, 2024.
Free the Taps is returning for a fourth year, with nine venues across Australia ‘freeing’ 65 beer taps for 15 different gluten free beer styles, including Australia’s first ever gluten free Hazy IPA headlining the bill in selected states - all brewed by leading independent gluten free craft brewer, TWØBAYS Brewing Co.
The events are being held at some of the nation’s most iconic craft beer venues, a nod from the industry that these beers are well worth a try for even the most dedicated craft beer drinkers. To close off ‘barley’ beer taps for gluten free beer would have been unthinkable a few years ago, but TWØBAYS’ dedication to the craft and pushing the boundaries of gluten free beer styles has changed all that.
“It’s a dream come true,” says TWØBAYS CEO and Founder Richard Jeffares, who was diagnosed with Coeliac Disease in 2015.
“Tap takeovers are the type of occasion I started this brewery for. They provide an opportunity for a group to get together and compare different beers with great food in really cool venues – that’s what I missed most after my diagnosis.”
“We are at a stage where quality is no barrier to making our beer appeal to all beer drinkers, no matter if they are gluten free or not. The feedback we’ve been getting from footy and cricket fans drinking our beers at the MCG and AAMI Park on game days is testimony to that.”
Until now gluten free beer drinkers have never been able to enjoy a Hazy IPA, but TWØBAYS, in collaboration with Carwyn Cellars are correcting that. The speciality beer will be pouring in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Launceston, while other TWØBAYS beers usually reserved for the brewery’s Victorian taproom will be available around the country. As well as core range favourites, there will be hop driven crisp Cold IPA and West Coast Lager, Belgian farmhouse style Saison, English Brown Ale, easy drinking Japanese Rice Lager, smooth Irish Stout, and of course Aussie Draught – all brewed from naturally gluten free malts so nobody has to miss out, even if you are avoiding gluten.
You don’t need to be gluten free to enjoy great food and great beer in the best venues. There’s a growing number of beer lovers just curious about what beer made from alternative grains is about. Carwyn Cellars snuck a TWØBAYS Broader Horizon Hazy IPA into their Canvent gift packs last December and were blown away by their customers reaction and approval of a non-barley beer.
“We played down the gluten free aspect of the beer deliberately, just to see if people would notice,” Carwyn Cellars Beer Ambassador, Tito Orellana told us. “Our customers are some of the most dedicated craft beer fans in the country so we were pretty nervous about what kind of response it would get - but they loved it!”.
So much so, TWØBAYS and Carwyn Cellars have collaborated on a second brew of a Hazy IPA, refining the recipe for their latest Collaboration Series beer for wider release in cans, available in independent bottle shops and craft beer venues from mid-March.
