The last two batches of black beans I’ve made have been dry, by which I mean not drunken, and this makes me sad. For years I’ve been making my black beans with a healthy dose of Dos Equis, Negro Modelo, or Baltika and now I can’t. A friend mentioned gluten-free beers to me a couple weeks ago, and while I did a little looking online, I hadn’t yet made the step to finding any brews locally.

That all changed last night when I went on a shopping expedition to Central Market. We have houseguests coming and they are not at all gluten-challenged, so most of my shopping cart was filled with all the gluten. We have biscotti and cinnamon rolls and 47-grain bread and a raft of other things I can’t eat. But tucked in next to the gluten-full goodies was my six-pack of Omission lager.

Omission is apparently a gluten-free beer, but they seem very careful about tossing that term around. The beer is labelled as “crafted to remove gluten,” but like beers the world over, it starts with barley. Barley is one of the handful of grains that are kryptonite to those with celiac and gluten intolerance, so how can a beer made with barley be OK for us?

To be honest, I’m not 100% certain it is. The process Omission uses is guaranteed by independent testing to bring the gluten level in the beer down below 20 ppm, which has been the acceptable standard approved by the FDA. I’m new to all of this, and I’m not excited about the possibility of “glutening” an entire batch of beans. As a gluten-free or safe product, Omission seems to have more fans than detractors, based on online reviews. And the beer itself gets good marks for taste. I guess I could solve the mystery for myself and just kick back and drink a beer after work. But I’ll admit, I’m nervous about it.

Sometime in the next week I’ll make another pot of beans, I’ll add my beer and I’ll cross my fingers that Omission is the foodie find I hope it is.