5 New-2026- Italian Craft Gluten-Free Beers you must try (Even if you are not celiac) – The Italian Craft Beer

Quick reminder: A beer is labelled "gluten-free" when the final product contains no more than 20 ppm of gluten (20 mg/kg), certified by an accredited laboratory. Breweries achieve this either by using gluten-free grains (rice, corn, millet, sorghum, buckwheat) or through enzymatic de-glutinisation of barley-based recipes. Both methods can produce outstanding results, as the five beers below prove.

1. Bandidos Gluten Free – Mister B Brewery (Mantova)

Style: Neo Mexican Lager ABV: 4.5%

Bandidos is the most fun and original beer on this list. Born from a collaboration between Mister B and Birrificio dell’Altavia, it is a gluten-free Neo-mexican Lager brewed with corn tortillas steeped during mashing + Hersbrucker and Zappa hops. The result is a golden, fresh, ultra-drinkable lager with fresh herbal hop notes, a light crunch of corn sweetness, and a dry finish. Think of it as summer in a can: easy, crispy, and zero compromise on taste.

Drink it if you like: refreshing beers, aperitivo-beers, easy-drinking sessions. Avoid if: you are looking for complexity and depth. This is not that beer and it doesn’t pretend to be. Find it (with all their Gluten Free beers in the portfolio): 33cl and 50cl cans; available at selected Italian craft beer shops and online.

2. Little Fifteen – Birrificio Rurale (Desio)

Style: Session IPA ABV: 4%

Little Fifteen is Birrificio Rurale’s birthday gift to the berlovers: presented at their 15th anniversary party in June 2024, it is their first certified gluten-free beer and, straight away, a national champion. It is a West Coast Session IPA made with American hops; vivid aromas of citrus, exotic fruit, a lean but present malt backbone. Clean, dry finish.

Drink it if you like: bright, hoppy beers without the alcohol punch; lunchtime IPAs; pairing with fresh salads. Avoid if: you prefer malt-forward beers or heavier Stout. Find it: available in 33cl cans at specialist craft beer retailers across northern Italy and online.

3. Loose – Birrificio Anbra (L’Aquila)

Style: Bock ABV: 7%

Made by Anbra (first microbrewery to open in L’Aquila city in 2011) it is a gluten-free beer that combines gluten-free malts with generous hopping, producing a complex aromatic profile: tropical fruit, gentle spiciness, and a warming finish.

Drink it if you like: strong ales, bocks, complex and warming beers; slow evenings with aged cheese. Avoid if: you are looking for a thirst-quenching summer beer (…save Loose for autumn and winter. Find it: at Anbra’s tap room in central L’Aquila (Via Garibaldi 49) and at their brewery in Fossa (AQ) + online.

4. 2Cilindri – Birrificio del Forte (Pietrasanta)

Style: Porter ABV: 5%

Dark, gluten-free, and seriously good.The name has a certain mechanical, no-frills confidence, and the beer delivers accordingly: roasted malt character, notes of dark chocolate and coffee, medium-full body, a restrained yet present bitterness, and a smooth, lingering finish.

Drink it if you like: porters, stouts, roasted and chocolatey beers; pairing with dark chocolate or mushroom-based dishes. Avoid if: you are new to dark beers, this is not a gentle introduction. Find it:Tuscan craft beer bars and online through Italian craft beer retailers.

5. Grommet Gluten Free – Antikorpo Brewing (Trieste)

Style: Keller Pils ABV: 4,8%

From the karst plateau above Trieste, where the Bora wind blows hard and the brewing scene punches well above its weight, comes Grommet Antikorpo’s flagship gluten-free offering. This is a beer built for the table. Hopped with Tettnang Tettnanger, Hersbrucker (Hallertau). Malty, herbal, a little balsamic, Clean, balanced, with a gently bitter backbone, soft malt sweetness.

Drink it if you like: balanced, easy-going; beer-and-food pairing; pizza nights; aperitivi. Avoid if: you are a hop-head hunting for maximum bitterness Grommet is about harmony, not intensity. Find it: at craft beer venues in Trieste and Friuli-Venezia Giulia; growing online availability.

N.B.Always check the label if you have severe celiac disease, as recipes and production batches can change.