Homeland Holidays

Christmas Eve dinner saw one of my mother's classic recipes take a gluten free twist. A salmon and rice pastry bake. Enveloped in my shortcrust pastry, it was literally like coming home again - albeit with an admittedly dense pastry. A power outage midway through prep sent us all into a panicked frenzy as I also had a gluten-free vegetarian curry potpie in the works. The omnipotent Hydro Quebec engineers must have sensed the cumulative groans of despair from an entire suburban block's worth of residents fretting over Christmas Eve meals in limbo as the problem was resolved within an hour.


Coupled with Brasseurs Sans Gluten's Glutenberg millet based red ale, my Christmas game was strong this year. Probably my favourite of Glutenberg's range thus far, there are lots of subtle flavour notes in this one but the overall taste is full, well-rounded and satisfying with no hint of the initial interior monologue questioning whether or not I actually find this latest instalment in my gluten-free beer drinking escapade palatable. No hesitation. It's a keeper.

Canadian Gluten-Free Beer

Home to Montreal for a gluten-free Christmas.

Health food and dietary foods in particular are shocklingly expensive in North America, be it for lactose/dairy intolerance, veganism or coeliacs. I wouldn't mind paying a premium for the alternative flours, baked goods and gluten-free tourtiere if it strictly came down to the attributed manufacturing cost (ensuring there is no cross-contamination in the production and packaging process for example) but it does seem as though there is a mark-up to take advantage of North Americans lurking in the free from aisle for a fad diet.

Glutenberg's IPA, Red Ale, APA and
Double Belgian

That being said, the gluten-free beer on offer in Quebec was not outrageously priced in comparison to food, and certainly not in in relation to Estrella Damm's gluten-free beer, Daura, which is the only brew available to coeliacs at even the largest of Tesco stores I've visited in the UK. Bless Quebec and their love for beer and microbrewing culture. The local IGA grocery store I visited in my suburb of Montreal had two brands, canned Glutenberg and bottled La Messagère, offering 7 varieties of gluten-free beer at this particular store.

I only had two hands so I picked up a case of Glutenberg IPA and La Messagere Rousse (and had to forego the milk).

The IPA I had with dinner was not great. It was almost unbearably carbonated, sharp, and dry with very little flavour. To be fair, I have yet to try a gluten-free pale ale or even lager that I didn't struggle to finish and perhaps going for the strong ale for my first beer since a so-so citrus-infused gluten-free lager in Amsterdam was ambitious. I'm still keen to try Glutenberg's other flavours, some of which are award winning (which I didn't notice in my rush of euphoria at the grocery store).

La Messagère's Rousse red ale, was woody and flavoursome with hints of caramelization and spice, yet still robust, which worked well on its own and with a feast. I am quite pleased to be spoiled for choice by two respectable microbrasseries whenever I will visit home. Get brewing to keep up, Europe.

La Messagère's Rousse, Millet and Blonde

O! hole-y goodness

A midnight shop at Tesco Extra, a wander down their ever expanding Free From aisle, and lo and behold three new flavours of Udi's Gluten Free Bagels bringing the range to a selection of six. That's Plain, Savoury, and (the ever elusive) Cinnamon & Raisin now joined by Multi Seeded, Chocolate Chip, and Sundried Tomato; all proudly gluten and dairy free. This latter will be key for kookaberries's visit from Berlin as her lactose intolerance combined with vegetarianism and my gluten intolerance will make for quite the 'free-from' weekend.

Udi's GF bagel selection at Tesco

Udi's website doesn't even list the three newcomers so perhaps Tesco is testing the line. I am hoping to see a classic sesame seed bagel join the lineup before long as Montréal bagels remain, three years on, one of the most missed elements from home.