This New Beer Is Made From Quinoa And Promises To Be Gluten-Free

Beer is usually made from grains (malted barley, wheat, etc.), but it doesn’t have to be. Introducing Meli, the first 100% quinoa-based beer in the U.S. Before you say it, quinoa is a seed, not a grain—I looked it up.

Launched this Spring, the gluten-free, organic beer brand was founded by Samara Oster. Ironically, she was not a beer drinker as she found it heavy and bitter. However, while traveling in Peru in 2019, Oster tasted a light beer that changed everything.

“When I came up with the idea for Meli, I wasn’t even a beer drinker,” said Oster. “I was traveling in Peru and came across a beer made from barley and quinoa — the quinoa part caught my eye, so I took a chance and ordered it. It tasted great; crisp and light, without the typical maltiness or bitterness I associated with beer. I was reducing gluten from my diet for health reasons, so I wondered whether there was a way to make a similar beer, entirely from quinoa.”

An Harvard and MIT grad, she began experimenting with quinoa fermentation with a team of MIT food scientists. Three years and 100+ formulations later, she’s created Meli. Brewed with ethically sourced organic quinoa, the brew is sugar-free, offers protein, essential vitamins and 7% of your daily potassium. That said, it does still contain alcohol at 4.4% ABV.

Meli Quinoa Beer is available now via their website for $18.99 for a four-pack and $99.99 for a case (24 cans).