EXCLUSIVE: London Black nitro porter now gluten-free across all formats

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The move to gluten-free, which includes its on-trade kegged beer, from the south London-based brewer means “raises a challenge to the macro brewers that dominate the pub scene, such as Diageo’s Guinness, lines that hold such a high market share but are off limits for gluten-free drinkers”.

London Black now joins the brewer’s Ansbacher Lager as the core duo in Anspach & Hobday’s permanent gluten-free range and the brewing team spent months carefully verifying the brewing process and ensuring the character of London Black as drinkers know and love it remains unchanged and “the team believes it is tasting better than ever”.

Anspach & Hobday co-founder Jack Hobday told The Morning Advertiser: “We made our premium lager, Ansbacher, gluten-free in 2021. Perhaps it is the depth of flavour and character of our beers but there was no discernible difference [in taste].

“For London Black, I don’t think there is a widely available or recognised porter or stout option for gluten-free drinkers in the UK and yet its a big market.

Gluten-free favoured

“Coeliac disease is around 1% of the population but those choosing to live a gluten-free lifestyle is estimated to be around 12% to 15%.

“So we decided to have a go... blind tasting within the brewery actually slightly favoured the gluten-free version, after that it was a simple ‘yes’.”

Fellow co-founder Paul Anspach added: “We’re delighted to make London Black accessible to even more of our community.

“The careful transition ensures the character and quality that made it the UK’s number one beer in 2025 remain exactly as they should be – and we’re confident it’s tasting better than ever.”

Nitro porter London Black 4.4% ABV has grown its status over the past few years and is claimed to deliver “the creamy, smooth mouthfeel of a classic nitro pour with subtle roasted notes of coffee and chocolate, balanced by a touch of red fruit”.

Gluten proteins broken down

The process to making its gluten-free beers begins in in the same way as all its beers using grains such as malted barley, which contain gluten.

Upon wort collection prior to fermentation, an enzyme is added that breaks down the gluten proteins present in the wort and beer into harmless peptides. This process reduces the gluten content of the beer to below the legal defined threshold of 20 ppm, meeting the legal standard for both the UK and EU.

Anspach & Hobday said this process has been verified by testing at a certified external laboratory and every batch of London Black from batch 218 (packaged on 10 November 2025) has been produced as outlined above and is therefore gluten-free.

The business is currently updating its packaging to reflect this change.

On the brewery being able to be proactive and adapt to modern consumer demands, Hobday said: “It is one of the joys of being a nimble outfit run by a small team who can decide and react. I have no doubt some of our bigger competitors will sit up and watch.”