A NEW Edinburgh brewery is claiming to be the first in the UK to make all of its products entirely gluten free.

Using alternative cereals in recipes that have taken over a year to create, Bellfield Brewery will launch its first two beers – Lawless Village IPA and Bellfield Bohemian pilsner – at the Allergy & Free From Show in Glasgow this weekend. All the brewery’s beers have been certified by Coeliac UK and carry the “crossed grain” symbol.

Founded by Marie Brown and funded by a group of close friends, the brewery is investing heavily in research and development with work being led by consultant brewer Kieran Middleton. This is focused on recipe development and brewing of beers that are naturally gluten-free using both conventional and unconventional ingredients and processes.

Twelve months after its launch, Bellfield has secured £180,000 of funding from 166 investors on Crowdcube and won Wild Edge funding worth £10,000 to drive innovation. The brewery has also been accepted for Scottish Enterprise’s Growth Pipeline scheme.

Bellfield Brewery has also announced a move into a purpose built 2,500 sq ft premises in Abbeyhill. It expects to create between five and seven sustainable, full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs in the next three years.

Ms Brown said: “We believe there is very significant opportunity to exploit the sweet spot between the continuing popularity of craft beers and the momentum in the demand for gluten-free food and drink. The thing most coeliacs miss most once they’re diagnosed is seriously good, tasty beer and we aim to put that right.”