Beer for people with Gluten intolerance

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psychnurse

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#151697 2-Sep-2014 12:47

Anyone have any luck with beer? I have tried the Gluten free range of Scotts and its ok although I object to paying $24 for a 6 pack.
Ive read a few posts from overseas websites that seem to favour Heineken or Bud. All the sites acknowledge that neither are gluten free. It seems some beers have less gluten than others.
Be great to share if you have discovered a brand that your body seems to tolerate.

Cheers

BlueShift

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#1120445 2-Sep-2014 13:07

My local home brew shop has some gluten-free kits among its range. Its an option if you feel like a bit of DIY.

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kiwitrc

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#1120479 2-Sep-2014 13:46

We have a Williamswarn and due to the clarification agent used the beer is Gluten Free. We tested this on animals (mate with Gluten allergy) and he consumed a few litres with no side effects at all. So depending on where you are you might be able to get someone with a WW brewery to knock you up a few dozen, or if you are really keen buy a brewery, they have two on sale currently from their showroom at a $2000 discount.

robjg63

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#1120490 2-Sep-2014 14:05

The gluten comes from the barley malt in normal beer.

There are arguments that suggest that most brewed beer has gluten levels that are low enough to be 'safe' to the Codex Alimentarius standard. Which is the 'coeliac 'safe level. From memory 20ppm (parts per million). It is suggested that the gluten proteins have been broken down by the fermentation process.

The other side of that argument is that the proteins have indeed changed so as to not be measurable by standard tests - but are still at dangerous levels - (ie above 20ppm) just not measurable with the usual processes.

If you have 'gluten intolerence' then try them and see if they cause you issues.

If you have Coeliac Disease then the wisdom is - dont risk it - you could be up for 6 months of intestinal damage.

As a Coeliac I have tried the Scotts beer - its ok - but doesnt taste like a plain old lager. There is also a beer from Wellington http://kererubrewing.co.nz/ which has a gluten free brew. Similar in flavour to the Scotts I think - and reasonably pricey as well.

Personally I have ended up making my own GF homebrew beer and am really pleased with the results. The Brewers Co-op in Penrose Auckland have 2 in-house recipes that make a really pleasant Ale and a Lager style of beer. They supply Sorghum Syrup in place of the Barley Malt. If you have made homebrew before then this is easy enough to try - though you will need a cheap stockpot to boil up the initial water/hops/syrup mix to get started.
Its about $60 for the ingredients to make a 23L batch. (30 750ml bottles or 60 stubbies).
The Lager is the closest I have tasted to a regular lager (from memory) - much milder than the Scotts or Kereru.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

Glassboy

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#1120522 2-Sep-2014 14:48

The reason we make beer out of barley is that it contains two enzymes which break starches down into fermentable sugars. Barley obviously doesn't grow everywhere but if you want to convert your local grain into sugars you need it. As a general rule Asian beers use a significant amount of rice in their mash as it's cheaper than importing the barley or liquid malt. (Sake uses a mould (Aspergillus oryzae) to break down starch).

So if you're intolerant rather than Coeliac you can see how Asian beers suit you.

I also believe African beers similarly use Sorghum with the caveat that former German colonies are more likely to follow the Reinheitsgebot.

psychnurse

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#1120530 2-Sep-2014 15:01

robjg63: The gluten comes from the barley malt in normal beer.

There are arguments that suggest that most brewed beer has gluten levels that are low enough to be 'safe' to the Codex Alimentarius standard. Which is the 'coeliac 'safe level. From memory 20ppm (parts per million). It is suggested that the gluten proteins have been broken down by the fermentation process.

The other side of that argument is that the proteins have indeed changed so as to not be measurable by standard tests - but are still at dangerous levels - (ie above 20ppm) just not measurable with the usual processes.

If you have 'gluten intolerence' then try them and see if they cause you issues.

If you have Coeliac Disease then the wisdom is - dont risk it - you could be up for 6 months of intestinal damage.

As a Coeliac I have tried the Scotts beer - its ok - but doesnt taste like a plain old lager. There is also a beer from Wellington http://kererubrewing.co.nz/ which has a gluten free brew. Similar in flavour to the Scotts I think - and reasonably pricey as well.

Personally I have ended up making my own GF homebrew beer and am really pleased with the results. The Brewers Co-op in Penrose Auckland have 2 in-house recipes that make a really pleasant Ale and a Lager style of beer. They supply Sorghum Syrup in place of the Barley Malt. If you have made homebrew before then this is easy enough to try - though you will need a cheap stockpot to boil up the initial water/hops/syrup mix to get started.
Its about $60 for the ingredients to make a 23L batch. (30 750ml bottles or 60 stubbies).
The Lager is the closest I have tasted to a regular lager (from memory) - much milder than the Scotts or Kereru.

Thanks for such a detailed answer and useful information.

psychnurse

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#1120531 2-Sep-2014 15:02

Glassboy: The reason we make beer out of barley is that it contains two enzymes which break starches down into fermentable sugars. Barley obviously doesn't grow everywhere but if you want to convert your local grain into sugars you need it. As a general rule Asian beers use a significant amount of rice in their mash as it's cheaper than importing the barley or liquid malt. (Sake uses a mould (Aspergillus oryzae) to break down starch).

So if you're intolerant rather than Coeliac you can see how Asian beers suit you.

I also believe African beers similarly use Sorghum with the caveat that former German colonies are more likely to follow the Reinheitsgebot.

Will give the Asian beers a go. Thanks for taking the time to answer.

robjg63

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#1120554 2-Sep-2014 15:48

You might find Budweiser worth a go as its up to 30% rice (along with Malt) so is assumed to have less malt (and therefore less potential gluten).

Also Tsingtao Beer which uses rice instead of some malt - Seem to recall I liked this quite a lot - and its sold everywhere now.

Maybe this site is worth a look for you:
http://gluteninbeer.blogspot.co.nz/

As I said - the gluten measurement of beer is a contentious subject.....

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

psychnurse

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#1120566 2-Sep-2014 16:14

robjg63: You might find Budweiser worth a go as its up to 30% rice (along with Malt) so is assumed to have less malt (and therefore less potential gluten).

Also Tsingtao Beer which uses rice instead of some malt - Seem to recall I liked this quite a lot - and its sold everywhere now.

Maybe this site is worth a look for you:
http://gluteninbeer.blogspot.co.nz/

As I said - the gluten measurement of beer is a contentious subject.....

That is a great site. Only seen about 3 of those beers for sale in NZ. Will keep my eyes peeled for some of those low gluten ones.