As far as I know, touchng isn't a problem for any coeliac - all the action happens in the intestines.
I've heard it said by a genuine Master Brewer that there shouldn't be any (appreciable) gluten left in any beer by the time the brewing process is done (barring late addition of grains for flavouring), but remarkably few breweries have had their ales tested for compliance to the codex if that's true. And there do seem to be many coeliacs who definitely react to beer.
Estrella Damm Daura is only 1 euro a bottle in Spain, but about 2.50 here. Mad. GF ale isn't hard to get if you can stand the prices - Sainsers carry some, for instance - and most of it is quite good.
When my wife was diagnosed she switched to cider, which is why I make quite a lot of TurboCider: OK it's not beer, but it can be just as satisfying, especially as it's easy (and cheap) to make stuff easily better than most shop-bought cider.
For actual ale though you're prtty much stuck with the sorghum-based kits from Gone With The Wheat or malting your own GF grains - millet's easy (at least in 1 gallon batch quantities) and definitely works pretty well.