New To Tennessee
Gluten-Free Bard’s Beer Is Now Available in Tennessee
Distribution agreement with R.S. Lipman Company gives the brewer of the nation’s first craft-brewed, gluten-free, sorghum beer extended reach for its consumers
MINNEAPOLIS — Bard’s Beer is now available across the state of Tennessee at a variety of retail and restaurant locations. Bard’s Beer is America’s first gluten-free sorghum beer and the only beer brewed with 100-percent malted sorghum for a traditional taste and aroma.
Bard’s Beer is an attractive beverage choice for individuals with celiac disease, others wishing to avoid gluten and beer enthusiasts looking for a craft sorghum beer with the lighter taste of an American lager. Bard’s Beer features low bitterness and a clean, refreshing finish.
“We’re pleased to extend distribution of Bard’s Beer with R.S. Lipman Company. Consumers nationwide have been asking for Bard’s and this agreement helps satisfy those requests,” said Bard’s Beer CEO Brian Kovalchuk.
Celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder triggered by the ingestion of gluten, affects 1 out of 133 people in the United States, and is also considered to be the most under-diagnosed common disease in the country. The digestive ailment damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate the gluten protein, which is found in wheat, rye and barley.
The lone effective treatment for celiac disease is a gluten-free diet as no medication exists. Bard’s Beer’s traditional brewing process utilizes only four natural ingredients: water, hops, yeast and sorghum, making it gluten free.
It is believed that 9 million people follow gluten-free diets for a variety of reasons, according to the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America. In 2006, gluten-free products (excluding beer) grossed more than $700 million, and the United States Department of Agriculture projects that the gluten-free food industry’s revenues will reach $1.7 billion by next year.
Bard’s Beer was started in 2005 as Bard’s Tale Beer Company when founders Kevin Seplowitz and Craig Belser both were diagnosed with celiac disease. Before being diagnosed both were avid home brewers, and upon their diagnosis rather than quit drinking beer they decided to develop a beer without barely, wheat, or rye.
Bard’s Beer is available in almost 40 states and two Canadian provinces and has seen production growth in each year of its existence. Additional information can be found at www.bardsbeer.com.