Bear Creek Malt Supply & Gluten Free Home Brewing Find a Home in Talent
November 2021
Gluten Free Home Brewing originally opened in December of 2014 in Ashland, and as an online store.
Owners Alissa and Brian moved to the Rogue Valley in 2006 so Alissa could obtain her Master’s degree in Business at SOU. “We were not planning on staying in the Rogue Valley, but ended up falling in love with the area and here we are 15 years later,” she said.
“In 2020 we connected with two businesses that lost their stores due to the Almeda fire, SONA CBD and Biscuits & Vinyl. The three of us were looking for a location to move our businesses to. We are grateful to have found a suite that enables each of us to have our own space while sharing expenses. In January of 2021, we moved in together (at 316 E Main Street Talent) and can support each other as small business owners.”
Alissa, originally from Salem, Oregon, attended Western Culinary Institute in Portland. “I was introduced to the intricacies of wine at culinary school and fell in love with the complexities and wide variety of flavors wine produced. Brian fell in love with all the microbreweries while living in Portland.” Alissa continued.
“Years later, we both discovered we needed to be gluten-free. At that time, the gluten-free beer market was just starting and the beers available were not very good. Brian wanted to try his hand at making a better gluten-free beer.”
After being frustrated by the lack of information available to gluten-free home brewers, Brian started a Facebook page with the goal to be a resource for the gluten-free community. “Little did we know that just a few short years later we would be the only national source for gluten-free malts or that we would expand into offering all supplies related to homebrewing.”
Gluten Free Home Brewing (GFHB) is a full-service homebrew store, offering beer, wine, and cider-making supplies, ingredients, and equipment to both the gluten-free brewer and the conventional brewer. All home brewers use the same high-quality ingredients and equipment. The main difference is the type of malt used to brew gluten-free beer. GFHB is the only dedicated gluten-free homebrew store in the nation. The retail store is dedicated gluten-free meaning everything in the store is gluten-free. The non-gluten-free malts are kept separate to ensure there is no cross-contamination.
Bear Creek Malt Supply allows GFHB to offer barley, wheat, and rye malt to like-minded home brewers. “Thanks to our neighbor, Sona CBD, who is sharing their storage room, we can offer a selection of LME, DME, and malted grains in-house. By operating under two business names, we can fulfill the needs of our gluten-free customers as well as the conventional brewer.”
They also offer water kefir, kombucha, and cheese-making supplies. The retail store is located in Talent where customers can come and take a look at what is on the shelf. Or if they prefer, orders can be placed online and picked up at the store. They also offer additional resources such as blogs, video tutorials, and recipes available for free. “We don’t claim to be experts but are happy to offer advice and assist in any problem-solving.
“Our customers can expect personalized service. We want everyone to leave with additional knowledge and feel empowered to experiment and try new things. You can email or text us with your questions or concerns and will do our best to get you going in the right direction.”
Please call 541-690-8001 for more information.