Brewery Profile

Brightside Brewing

Radcliffe, Greater Manchester · Founded 2009 by Neil and Maxine Friedrich (founders), now run by Carley and Lance Friedrich

Every recipe lab tested by ELISA and retested through the year, above the industry norm. Brightside is upfront that the beer is gluten removed to 20ppm, not marketed as safe for coeliacs.

Gluten reduced Gluten removed from barley using an enzyme, to the UK legal threshold of under 20ppm.

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The Story

Brightside was born out of the 2009 recession, when the Friedrich family was looking for a new direction after nearly 30 years running a bakery. What started as a full family affair is now led by sister and brother Carley and Lance Friedrich, with parents Neil and Maxine gradually stepping back. The brewery identified growing consumer interest in gluten free products and pivoted to specialise in it, now producing over 1.1 million pints of gluten free beer per year. They supply cask, keg, bottle, and can formats to trade, ecommerce, and retail. They are also refreshingly straight about the gluten free side: the beer is gluten removed rather than naturally gluten free, tested to under 20ppm, and they do not claim it is safe for every coeliac.

GF approach: Gluten removed from barley using an enzyme, to the UK legal threshold of under 20ppm. Every recipe is tested and certified by an accredited lab using the ELISA method, and the core beers are retested through the year, above the industry norm of once a year. Results often come back under 10ppm, the lowest the lab can read. Brightside is deliberately careful not to market the beer as safe for coeliacs: at 20ppm it comes down to individual tolerance, and they point anyone highly sensitive towards naturally gluten free beer instead. All beers are vegan.

Their Beers