A Guide To Gluten-Free Drinking

It's everywhere – from the imitation crab in your California roll to the soy sauce you dip it in. It lurks in breakfast cereal and protein bars. Your pantry teems with it. It's gluten, the protein in wheat, spelt, rye and barley that binds molecules together and is responsible for the wonderfully elastic, dense and chewy texture in bread and pasta. An otherwise friendly substance, gluten's only enemies are people like me who can't ingest it due to an allergy. It knocks out the immune system faster than you can ask "does this have wheat in it?"

So what to do when the weekend rolls around and it's time to hit the bar? Even if you can't eat the breaded and fried goodness that is a staple on pub menus (sub out chicken fingers or a burger for nachos or potato skins), you can absolutely make up for it by drinking any and all of the gluten-free potables your neighborhood watering hole has to offer. Read on for the dos and don'ts of gluten-free imbibing. Cheers!

Click here for the Guide to Gluten-Free Drinking Slideshow.