Unique gluten-free beer on tap at Grey Fox Brewing

Published on December 19, 2022 by David Wylie

Grey Fox founder serves a beerPhoto: David Wylie/OJ
Grey Fox founder Chris Neufeld serves a taste of gluten-free beer to one of their first customers.

A dedicated gluten-free brewery is now open in the Lake Country area.

“It’s a Christmas miracle! We have beer, and we’re selling it,” says Chris Neufeld, owner and brewmaster at Grey Fox Brewing.

Grey Fox opened just before Christmas with two beers on tap: Farmhouse Ale and Sly Saison. Neufeld says he’s also working on a witbeir (without the wheat) and a lager. There are also plans for an IPA.

The brewery ran a successful Kickstarter campaign last year for a final funding kick, raising more than $20,000.

Neufeld as a celiac, which means any presence of gluten in food or drink makes him quite ill.

“I was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2003, back when nobody even knew what gluten was,” says Neufeld.

“Finding a gluten-free beer that stands up to its more traditional counterpart is tough. It’s a real hole in the market. There’s clearly a need, and we want to change that. Grey Fox beer is not just gluten free, it’s real craft beer that even your non-celiac or gluten sensitive friends will be excited to drink.”

He says the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

Grey Fox branded kegs stacked Photo: David Wylie/OJ
Kegs are ready to be filled with gluten-free beer.

Grey Fox started with experimenting at home

Neufeld, who has been making his own wine for years, started experimenting with making beer at home. At first it was a flop. However, he was introduced to brewers in Oregon who had been active in the gluten-free scene.

“They taught me some of the science in how to extract the starches from the gluten-free grains that aren’t so easily extracted as they are from barley,” he says.

Once he learned the science behind it, the beer he was making changed dramatically. Neufeld uses a combination of millet and rice along with hops and yeast, which produces excellent gluten-free beer.

“I was giving it to my friends, and they couldn’t tell they were any different from the beers they were drinking at the taproom down the street,” he says.

“That’s when I knew things needed to be bigger, and that’s when Grey Fox started.”

Grey Fox is located at 105-310 Hiram Walker Court in the Jim Bailey Industrial Area.