The story of Great Frontier Brewing Company begins many years ago when Mike Plungis was given a home brewing kit for Father’s Day. He loved it. As a Certified Public Accountant, he loved the methodical process involved in brewing beer and the preciseness of the chemistry and cooking. And, like most adults, he loved drinking beer. Shortly after discovering this new hobby, however, his wife Annie was diagnosed with Celiac, a genetic disorder that causes the body to have an adverse reaction after ingesting gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, the ingredients used to make beer. Those with Celiac must eat a gluten-free diet to avoid reactions. Considering Plungis had just started home brewing, this was quite a blow.

Plungis took the diagnoses as a challenge and began tinkering with gluten-free beer recipes. Because Celiac and other forms of gluten intolerance tend to run in families, other family members, including one of his sons, were also diagnosed. Gluten-free beers are usually made from sorghum, millet, or even rice. Using sorghum, Plungis created his gluten-free recipe.

Shortly after refining his recipe, he had friends and family sample the results. They loved it. Intrigued, he talked to Tim Myers of Strange Craft Beer Company. Myers liked the recipe so much he brewed a batch. The reception in the Strange Craft taproom was so overwhelmingly positive that Myers entered the beer in the 2011 Great American Beer Festival where it won Gold in the gluten-free beer category. 

Now Plungis has opened his own brewery serving a variety of gluten-free, gluten-reduced, and traditional beers. The Blonde Annie, his award-winning beer, is made with lots of Colorado honey for a touch of sweetness, which they dip by hand. It also has a healthy dose of hops and is the brewery’s most popular beer, whether drinkers are gluten-free or not.

Plungis says one weekend afternoon a bunch of “burly-looking” guys came in and sat at a table ordering pint after pint of Blonde Annie. After an hour he went over to talk to them, wanting to know why they kept ordering the beer. Turned out not one of them was gluten-free. They all said they just liked the beer.

The brewery’s other gluten-free beer is Giant Forehead IPA. While it starts similar to Blonde Annie, this IPA has a special blend of Warrior, Cascade, Centennial, Amarillo, and Simcoe hops. It's citrusy and hoppy with a hint of lemongrass.

The Old Soul Scotch Ale is a gluten-reduced beer. That means it is brewed with traditional ingredients and the gluten is removed by an enzyme at the end of the brewing process. However, there are trace amounts of the protein present. Old Soul is a dark brown beer with a smooth texture and a rich and malty taste up front with a nutty finish.

For traditional beers, Plungis makes the Oak Street IPA, in which 75% of the hops are from Paonia, CO, and it is a crisp, piney tasting beer with a 6.5% ABV. Plungis himself is partial to the Colorado Pale Ale or CPA because of his day job. The golden CPA is a fresh hopped beer with a crisp piney taste and smells slightly buttery.

The brewery runs a 15 bbl brewing system with equipment from American Beer Equipment in Lincoln, NE. He has four fermentation tanks so he can brew up to four beers at a time. Plungis prefers to keep all his beers around 5-6% ABV (but has made a tripel that topped out at 10%) because he wants the brewery to be a neighborhood hangout, a place where people gather to chat and play games. Kids and dogs are welcome. The brewery also has food trucks on weekends, and Plungis prefers trucks that offer gluten-free items for his GF customers.

Great Frontier Brewing Company is located at 2010 S. Oak St. in Lakewood, near the corner of Kipling and Jewel. The tasting room is open Thursdays from 5 to 9 PM, Fridays 3 to 10 PM, Saturdays from 2 to 10 PM, and Sundays 2 to 7 PM. Great Frontier beers can also be found around the West Metro area at World of Beer Belmar, Old Chicago on Union, and Colorado Plus in Wheat Ridge.

Photos via Great Frontier Brewing Company