It's that time of the year again--time to vote for Willamette Week's Best of Portland. The polls are open thru March 31st with the final round of top 5 voting taking place May 4th-31st. 

Click the button to nominate us!

Local, dedicated, gluten-free. At Ground Breaker, we strive to create the best 100% gluten-free craft beer and food. We are dedicated to this idea. No gluten containing items are allowed through the door.

If you have love for Ground Breaker Brewery & Gastropub, show it by registering at the Willamette Week website and voting for yours truly.

As the days get brighter so do the brews. Ground Breaker Brewing & Gastropub, the first dedicated gluten-free brewpub in the country, has announced the return of their spring seasonal, Coffee Pale Ale. The exclusive release will take place Wednesday February 24. Coffee Pale Ale comes in at 5% ABV and 30 IBU. This smooth but peppy pale ale is sure to get you through the last of the winter blues. 

The combination of Equal Exchange’s Medium Peruvian roast coffee with a pale ale was selected by the guests in their Gastropub. “Having our own pub gave us the ability to try several coffee/beer combinations and get an immediate response from our customers,” said Ground Breaker’s head of R&D, James Neumeister. He continued, “We had assumed that blending coffee with our Dark Ale would be the obvious winner but no other coffee beer we made matched the positive response we received using this pale ale and coffee combination.”

For the exclusive release of their Coffee Pale Ale, the Ground Breaker Gastropub will be presenting a Wednesday Supper menu featuring Breakfast for Dinner. In addition to Coffee Pale Ale, there will be three specialty versions available only in the Gastropub. Vanilla Cream features additions of lactose, a generous amount of vanilla, and extra coffee. Mexican Chocolate includes chillis, cinnamon, and cocoa nibs. Valencia Coffee Pale Ale is a variant with lactose, orange, cocoa nibs, and extra coffee. 

About Equal Exchange
Equal Exchange, a pioneer in Fair Trade since 1986, is a full service provider of high quality, organic coffee, tea, chocolate and other foods to customers across the United States. 100% of Equal Exchange products are fairly traded, benefiting more than 75 small farmer co-operatives in 40 countries around the world. Beans for this Coffee Pale Ale come from Peru, where Equal Exchange has partnered with Cooperativa Nor Andino for nearly 15 years.
http://equalexchange.coop/

Ground Breaker Brewing, the first dedicated gluten-free brewery in the country, is excited to announce distribution in Vermont and Maine through Vermont Beer Shepard and Mariner Distribution. Vermont fans of Ground Breaker Brewing’s gluten free beer can rejoice after a two year hiatus. “It’s a privilege to have our beer back in Vermont. The state has a very rich beer culture and we are excited to once again be a part of it,” said James Neumeister, head of Research & Development at Ground Breaker Brewing.

Ground Breaker partnered with California distributor Artisan Distribution late last year. Expanding into New England is part of the brewery’s ongoing goal of providing the best gluten-free beer to the ever-growing community of individuals suffering from celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity. “We couldn’t be happier to be working with two independent distributors to bring our beer to the gluten-free community of New England. We get a lot of calls in the brewery and messages on social media from New Englanders that want to know where they can find our beer,” remarked Neumeister. “We’re happy to now be able to provide that answer.”

The first shipment left the Ground Breaker dock on January 15. Among the first beers that will be available are IPA No. 5, winner of the Silver Medal at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival® in the Gluten-Free Beer category. Also available will be Dark Ale, winner of the Gold Medal in the Gluten-Free Beer category at the 2014 Great American Beer Festival. Look for these and more Ground Breaker beers on Vermont and Maine store shelves near you soon!

About Vermont Beer Shepherd

Vermont Beer Shepherd is a new wholesale craft beer distribution company hailing from Waterbury, Vermont in the heart of the Green Mountains. They are a small independent, family owned distribution co. committed to providing an outlet for the small independent craft brewer. The craft beer market is exploding, and discriminating beer drinkers want access to what’s new, fresh and exciting. Vermont Beer Shepherd’s mission is to corral and protect a diverse flock of craft brands from around the globe ensuring a safe passage from independent brewer to beer lover so the consumer has the best beer experience possible.

http://www.vtbeershepherd.com

https://www.facebook.com/VTBeerShepherd

https://www.instagram.com/vtbeershepherd/

About Mariner Beverages

Mariner Beverages is a wholesale distributor of fine wines and craft beers located in Portland, Maine providing weekly sales and delivery service to restaurants, retail shops, and grocery stores throughout Maine. From Kittery to Bangor, from Bethel to Bar Harbor and everywhere in between, they are committed to excellent customer service and quality products. Their large selection of fine wines and craft beers starts in their own backyard, and extends all around the world. They are passionate about wine, beer, and food.

http://www.marinerbeverages.com/

https://twitter.com/marinerbeverage

The cold and rain have once again returned to the Pacific Northwest, and so has St. Denny Dubbel. Ground Breaker Brewing’s winter seasonal named in honor of homebrewing great Denny Conn is back for its third year.

St. Denny is brewed with roasted chestnuts, roasted lentils and dark Belgian candi syrup. It is lightly hopped with Oregon-grown Sterling hops, and fermented with a blend of two gluten-free Belgian yeast strains. It comes in at 6.5% ABV and 25 IBU. With a brilliant copper brown color, medium-full body, moderate strength, subtle bitterness, and slightly sweet finish, this dubbel style ale is sure to satisfy.

St. Denny Dubbel Style Ale bottles will be released at The Ground Breaker Brewing Gastropub on Wednesday, November 18th. In addition to the standard St. Denny, the pub will be pouring a specialty version with cranberries.

About Denny Conn
Denny Conn has been homebrewing and teaching others how to brew since 1998. He has been a member of the Governing Committee of the American Homebrewers Association for nine years, is a BJCP National beer judge, and is a member of the Eugene homebrew club Cascade Brewers Society. His second book, Experimental Homebrewing (co authored with Drew Beechum), is out now and is available at your local homebrew shop or online at Amazon.com. Denny has influenced countless professional brewers and has a yeast strain named after him. He currently lives in Noti, Oregon with his IPA loving wife, five cats, and two dogs.

(Seattle, WA/Portland, OR) The U.S. is filled with lots of great craft beer cities with many new markets emerging each year. The Northwest is home to arguably two of the most prestigious craft beer cities this country has to offer, so it should come as no surprise that the two best dedicated gluten-free breweries call the Northwest home.

Ghostfish Brewing is a dedicated gluten-free brewery in Seattle, WA and Ground Breaker Brewing is a dedicated gluten-free brewery in Portland, OR. These two breweries swept the awards in the Gluten Free Beer category at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival®. The gold medal went to Ghostfish Brewing's Watchstander Stout, the silver medal went to Ground Breaker's IPA No. 5, and bronze went to Ghostfish Brewing's Grapefruit IPA.

To commemorate their award winning beers, both breweries will be tapping the three medal-winning beers in their own taprooms during the week of November 9, 2015. “It was very exciting for us to win another medal this year,” stated James Neumeister, head of Reserach & Development at Ground Breaker Brewing. “We saw a unique opportunity with two Pacific Northwest breweries taking home the gluten-free GABF medals this year, we approached the guys at Ghostfish with the idea of a ‘champions flight’ and they were receptive,” Neumeister added. “We are extremely proud to be part of the great brewing culture that exists in the Northwest,” says Brian Thiel, co-founder and director of sales for Ghostfish Brewing. “This opportunity, to showcase these three great beers born in the Northwest, was too good to pass up.”

Unlike breweries that produce so-called "gluten-reduced" beers, Ghostfish Brewing and Ground Breaker Brewing are in complete alignment in the adherence of using 100% gluten-free ingredients in dedicated facilities to create their beers. "There are no 'omitted' risks for Celiacs drinking our beer; we are 100% committed to 0 PPM, start to finish" says Jason Yerger, brewmaster at Ghostfish Brewing. “We strive to bring the craft beer experience to the gluten-free community. Serving these three top-rated beers in our dedicated pub is in the spirit of that very mission,” remarked Neumeister.

About Ghostfish Brewing
Ghostfish Brewing is the first and only dedicated gluten-free craft brewery located in Washington state. Since opening in February 2015, Ghostfish Brewing has been exploring the uncharted waters of never before-used brewing techniques and testing the limits of what can be created without wheat, barley, rye or oats. The production brewery and taproom are located at 2942 1st Ave. S., Seattle, WA.

www.ghostfishbrewing.com

About Ground Breaker Brewing
Ground Breaker Brewing is a dedicated gluten-free craft brewery and gastropub founded in 2011. Ground Breaker Brewing’s facility is entirely gluten-free; no gluten is allowed on the premises. The gastropub is located at 2030 SE 7th Ave., Portland, OR. Ground Breaker’s beers are distributed in OR, WA, ID, and CA, as well as BC & AB in Canada.

www.groundbreakerbrewing.com

About The Great American Beer Festival
Presented by the Brewers Association, GABF is the largest national beer competition that recognizes the most outstanding beers produced in the United States. The top three winners in the competition’s 92 beer categories were announced September 26 at the Great American Beer Festival awards ceremony held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado. The 2015 GABF competition winners were selected by an international panel of 242 expert judges from the record number of 6,647 entries, plus 91 Pro-Am entries, (a collaboration between professional breweries and amateur home brewers), received from 1,552 U.S. breweries. GABF was founded in 1982, and has been growing and evolving along with the American craft brewing industry ever since.

www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com