Collaboration Series - Grouse Amber Ale

April 14, 2026 Digital TWØBAYS

Grouse by name, grouse by nature

Borne out of a collaboration with Grouse Malt House in Colorado, Grouse Amber Ale is an American style Amber Ale, brewed entirely with Grouse malts. The beer recipe was developed in partnership between the Grouse Maltsters and TWØBAYS brewers to deliver a rich malt forward beer with notes of toffee and stone fruit, with hints of pine and resin from the American hop varieties - and all without the gluten.

It was on Richard's first fact finding mission across America that he discovered Grouse Malt House. At the time, the Grouse team didn't know the Australian slang "grouse", but in Aussie terms, they certainly live up to that name. You need Grouse malts to make grouse gluten free beer!

What makes Grouse Malts different?

Grouse and TWØBAYS have a shared mission and philosophy; quality, choice and most importantly, safety - avoiding all risk of cross contamination with dedicated gluten free facilities.

The quality and variety of their malted gluten free grains is second to none on the planet. They are a dedicated gluten free malthouse to ensure no risk of cross contamination from farm to glass.

When TWØBAYS was first conceived, at the very heart of what we wanted to deliver as a brewery was the same choice and quality that barley beer drinkers can enjoy. And it is partners like Grouse Malt House that make that dream possible. Malting a variety of grains such as millet, buckwheat, rice and corn, in a multitude of styles to closely match traditional and artisan barley malts, it is their range of malted gluten free grains that make our range of beer styles possible.

They help TWØBAYS lift the bar on gluten free beers, helping us on our way to two world beer cups and a Champion Beer Trophy. It takes the best malts to make the best beers, and this Amber Ale is another example of just how good beer can be with naturally gluten free malts.

Naturally Gluten Free Malts

The process for malting naturally gluten free grains is just the same as malting traditional beer malts like barley, just on a far smaller scale than the big barley malt houses. There are four key steps:

Steeping hydrates the grains to allow uniform breakdown of the starches and proteins

Germinating allows the grains to break down proteins and carbohydrates, opening up the seeds’ starch reserves, which result in fermentable sugars.

Kilning halts the germination process. Specialty malts are dried in a kiln at higher temperatures for longer periods of time, roasted, or both. The last step is to deculm the malt - cleaning the seed and removing the rootlet to avoid unwanted bitter flavours in the finished beer.

Roasting is the finals stage, developing colours and flavours which, when used in combination can make all the beer styles that barley beer drinkers have enjoyed for millenia - so now no one has to miss out on the whole world of beer varieties, even if they are avoiding gluten.