Gluten-free is the new vegetarian. Only, whereas vegetarians are generally driven by pesky ethical concerns (I kid the vegetarians; I used to be one!), the gluten-intolerant are forced out of self-preservation into a dietary lifestyle few would choose. Sure, it’s hard enough at first pale — no bread, no pizza, no pasta, no cakes and cookies. But do you know how far-reaching gluten is in your diet? There’s gluten in soy sauce, rice cakes and even beer.

Gulp.

OK, OK, don’t panic. While more and more people are evidently becoming sensitized to gluten, the upside is that the marketplace is becoming sensitized to the afflicted, and adapting to meet their needs. Why, even Anheuser-Busch has announced plans to release a gluten-free beer, made from sorghum instead of wheat or barley. Gluten-free has made the bigtime.

...continued: Glutenless Maximus

What would the holidays be without a little holiday cheer? It would seem that ThisNexters are a cheerful bunch indeed. We’ve picked up some highlights from a selection of gift guides designed for the tasteful tippler.

When in doubt, wine makes a great gift. Even if you don’t know the tastes and proclivities of your giftee, there’s bound to be a bottle that will be graciously received. Culinary Detective Chris Cognac recommends Chateau Ste Michelle Reserve Chardonnay in his gift guide In the Kitchen with the Common Man. “Delicious and affordable,” says he. A winning combination indeed.

A bottle of bubbly is an unfailingly classy gift, but you don’t have to break the bank to impress. I’m a big fan of Gruet Brut , a sparkling wine from the otherwise unheard of wine region of New Mexico. You’ll wow your friends with the relative obscurity, and the flavor utterly belies its petite price tag. For more options on inexpensive imbibables, check out my list of Great Cheap Wines.

...continued: Lush-ious gift guides

How do coffee addicts get their fix when out on a backpacking/camping/hiking excursion through the backcountry? OutdoorHacks.com (“tips & tricks to improve your life outdoors”) suggests the Press-Bot, a French press that fits inside your Nalgene bottle and thus eliminates your need to carry a separate container just for your java.

The blog’s self-proclaimed “outdoor geeks and freaks” find all the coolest outdoor gear and gadgets: Check the proceeding post for info on an outdoor beer dispenser that lets you chug draught beer right on your back deck.

When is draining a few beer cans considered a highly productive endeavor? When you’re talking about constructing a Penny Alcohol Backpacking Stove, a homemade device whose building instructions call for two 12-ounce Heineken cans. Crags at Scotland-based Outdoors Gear Blog discovered the stove via the Getoutdoors.com Outdoor Blog, announcing:

“This looks so good that I’m going to go out and buy some beer now, purely for construction purposes of course. If it works I’ll post photos, if it doesn’t I’ll be typing with burned fingers.”

Summertime is picnic time, but one of the challenges is keeping drinks cool and safe. Spice Girl (evidently a new superheroine, at least in our book) has got us — and our bottled beverages — covered with this plush, thermal 6-pack tote suitable for porting to parks, on boats, wherever fun is had. Beverages not included.

OK, we admit it: We’re total suckers for cute packaging. I mean, that’s half the point, right? Well, we don’t feel so bad, cuz Mamster at Roots and Grubs did exactly what we have done: bought this specialty beer based on the bottle alone. Luckily, it turns out, St Peter’s Porter also happens to be a straight-up good dark beer. Evidently sometimes you can judge a book — or a beer — by its cover.

World Changing, one of the best-known of the green blogs, takes us beyond organic wines and palm nut ale, to an actual, hops beer that’s not only from sustainable sources, but actually supports sustainable causes. Kew Brew is made with varieties of hops grown at Great Britain’s Royal Botanic Gardens. Sales of the beer support Kew’s international Millennium Seed Bank Project, a huge and hugely important seed bank project that’s doing important conservation work every day. What an opportunity: to do well in two sustainable ways, and still have a decent pint (or two).

It’s not just us who’s obsessed with the heat these days. Seems it’s got everyone in a tizzy. And everyone has their own remedy. But amidst all the recipes for chilled soups and frozen cocktails, one suggestion stands out as being both uniquely refreshing and distinctively delicious: the shandy. This popular British quaff is typically a mix of light beer and lemonade, though evidently down in the islands they use ginger ale instead as the non-alcoholic mixer. We’re hoisting one to Rachael at Fresh Approach Cooking for filling our heads and pint glasses with this brilliant brew. Cheers, mate!

Right about this time of year, you might be wondering whether the mercury will ever stop rising. I don’t know about you, but when the heat is on, the only thing that really cools me down is a nice, cold beer. Alan at the promisingly-named A Good Beer Blog turns us on to four thirst-quenching microbrew wheat beers from across America that deliver refreshing lightness without sacrificing flavor. Cheers, Alan, for keeping us cool.

If you are looking for an interesting design piece, and you - say …really need a new beer mug, and you like rocks, and you have an extra hundie, then Chachada has just the thing for you!

via NOTCOT 

OK, so maybe you can’t actually buy this clever comedic invention (as seen on virtual TV), but it makes for a good watch anyway. And you’ve got to admit, they’re a far superior alternative to a cadaver’s hand. If only we could get this crafty Scotsman to join the ranks on ThisNext and market his beer tongs, they might be the Next Big Thing. (Until you reach the end of the video, that is.)

Via Hail the Ale.

It’s everyone’s worst nightmare: A six-pack of beer, and no opener. Well, at least one crafty German has figured out how to open a beer with pretty much anything, like, oh, your child’s bicycle. Or handcuffs (fuzzy pink lining optional, we think). Or perhaps a garden gnome. 989 ways revealed so far. We don’t speak German, but we do speak fluent beer, and the sheer MacGyverism makes this blog worth visiting.

We like to be thorough, and we’re glad to see we’re not alone in that regard. Meet Andreea, an expat who’s lived in Belgium for over a decade. Andreea has a passion for food and wine, but lives in a country of beer. She is, as far as we can tell, determined to drink every beer in Belgium, one at a time. She’s got 68 under her belt so far, but with over 450 varieties of Belgian beer out there, she’s got her work cut out for her. Because she’s a wine drinker at heart, Andreea pays close attention to detail when sampling these beers, not least making sure that each is drunk from its appropriate glassware. Cheers to her!

Sometimes better living involves a little experimentation. We love us the occasional beer, but sometimes want something just a little different. So we’re just dying to sample one of Oregon microbrewer Rogue’s Chipotle Ale. The combination of hops and smoky chili pepper definitely sounds kind of weird, but in a good way.

Good bloggers — like Jennifer and Remi at Taste Everything Once — improve our lives by expanding our horizons and exposing us to things we didn’t know we wanted to try. Cheers!

Beer geeks, perk up your ears: The Spirit World has corralled up a flight of beer podcasts for your listening enjoyment. Personally, we prefer that beer go in our mouths, but you may find it equally enjoyable in the ear. Programming material ranges from listening to guys talk about the beers they’re drinking to a combination of beer and music. But whatever your predilection, there’s bound to be some brew worth listening to. And heck, any opportunity to add a new sensory element to something as beloved as beer is something we approve of.

We’re all about the little things that make life better and easier, which is why we just fell in love with this fork/bottle opener. Now there’s one tool that will allow us to tackle both our potato salad and a nice cool one. Did someone say picnic? (via Liquor Snob)

Here in San Francisco, summertime usually means breaking out the parka, but we’re currently gripped by a heatwave that has us up in the 80s. That may not sound too bad, but for most of us pasty-white fog lovers, it’s enough to make us wilt like hothouse flowers. I’m grateful, then, for the SudsPundit’s guidance on a collection of hot-weather-friendly lagers.

We’re all about the little things that make life better, and SudsPundit’s making the world a happier place for hot-weather endurers everywhere.