A Kelowna, B.C., brewing establishment dedicated to being 100 per cent gluten-free swept away the competition at the Canada Beer Cup in Niagara Falls on Wednesday.
“To our surprise, we swept the gluten-free category, we won all the awards,” said Grey Fox Brewing owner and founder, Chris Neufeld.
“We won gold for the Quick Witted, our lager got silver, and we have a stout that we don’t even have anywhere else but the brewery, and it picked up the bronze.”
This isn’t the first time Neufeld’s products have received national recognition. Last year, the brewery accomplished something no other competitor in Canada has before.
“The Quick Witted also won gold last year at the Canadian Brewing Awards, which blew us away, we couldn’t believe it,” said Neufeld.
“We talked to the organizers, and they said they couldn’t ever recall a brewery less than a year old winning gold, and we were literally weeks old at the time.”
Neufeld was diagnosed with celiac disease back in 2003, and at the time, he said even his doctor knew nothing about the disease. After nearly 19 years without a beer, he and his wife decided to open up a brewery in December of 2020 — one that ensured those who are celiac or have a gluten intolerance could enjoy a cold ale again.
“With celiac disease, even the slightest trace of gluten is enough to upset their system – the accepted level is 20 parts per million, and I can’t even stress to you how tiny that is,” said Neufeld.
“We aim to be even lower than that, we try to be as near to zero as we can and that means only buying the raw ingredients that are certified gluten-free, and we don’t allow anybody to bring anything into the building, to ensure there’s no chance for contamination.”
Since the brewery’s trio of awards at the Canada Brew Cup, Neufeld says requests have been coming in for his products right across the country.
“A product like this obviously has a draw larger than just the Okanagan, and so we’re going to do our best to try and do that, without overextending ourselves to the point of not being able to fill orders,” said Neufeld.
“I know how often it is I find a good gluten-free product, and then I try to find it again and the shelf is empty, and I find that really frustrating, so we don’t want to be that guy.”
The award-winning beverages can be found at just about any liquor store in Kelowna, and at the Grey Fox Brewing at 310 Hiram Walker Court in Kelowna.