CHICAGO – As more and more Americans embrace a gluten-free (GF) diet, the roster of GF products has expanded accordingly. Now, MillerCoors has announced plans for the February launch of Coors Peak Copper Lager, a "naturally gluten free" version of Coors.

According to a media statement, MillerCoors brewers developed a proprietary brewing process that is specifically designed to deliver a 100% gluten-free beer “worthy of the Coors name.” While Coors Peak Copper Lager is not the first GF beer, the company is hoping that the new brew will gain more traction than some of its predecessors. In 2006, Anheuser-Busch launched a nationally available gluten-free brand called Redbridge that is made with sorghum, but it has remained a relatively niche brand.

The beer will launch next month in Seattle and Portland markets, but there are no current plans for national distribution, due to production limitations. In order to make the beer gluten-free, barley is replaced with brown rice, malted brown rice and protein from peas, according to a MillerCoors source. The beer also must also be made separately from beers that contain gluten, to comply with gluten-free certification rules.