What is Gluten-Free Beer? - History and Facts
Gluten-Free is a tag that is becoming more and more prevalent in our health conscious society, and the world of beer is not immune. But I think it is important that we ask ourselves: Why?
Well, the answer is steeped in history–some of it sad, but important nonetheless. And that history along with medical diseases and discoveries has been infiltrated into our modern machine to provide more options to those with gluten sensitivities.
But an important question arises: What is Gluten?
The Bugaboo Itself: Gluten
Gluten in the simplest terms possible is the protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and triticale (wheat and rye variety)¹. Gluten helps our breads and other gluten-containing solids maintain their shape by acting as a sort of glue. Anyone who has kneaded bread will understand how gluten develops in the process of creating a loaf.
Oats are naturally gluten-free, but they contain a protein called avenin that can cause similar issues as gluten in people with Celiac disease. Oats are also often processed with wheat, making them likely to have gluten packaged with them.
But when considering how much bread, tortillas, and beer we consume as a society, why is gluten considered so bad in our modern culture? Well, the answer starts in World War II Holland.
History of the Gluten-Free Diet
In 1944, Holland found itself in the midst of an extreme famine due to supply cut-offs caused by World War II. Flour and bread were difficult to come by and even sold on a sort of black market at insanely high prices.
Sadly, the people became thin and malnourished. But a pediatrician named Willem Karel Dicke², a man studying the misunderstood Celiac disease, started to notice a strange trend. The patients he had been treating for Celiac disease seemed to be improving, with some of them even gaining weight during such a meager time.
With this newfound knowledge, he came to the conclusion that the proteins in flour (gluten) were causing digestive and nutrient uptake issues in his patients with Celiac disease. He recommended from then on for his patients to avoid gluten-containing products. This gave rise to the gluten-free diet.
Fast forward seven decades, and now we see the words “Gluten-Free” stamped onto everything. And it’s not only people with Celiac disease that are interested in such diets, but also people with non-celiac gluten intolerance, and other health conscious beings.
It was only a matter of time before it found its way into our beer. But what constitutes a Gluten-free beer?
What is Gluten-Free Beer?
The average beer has a gluten content above 20 parts per million (ppm)³, even after most of the gluten is lost in the brewing process. To clarify, 20 ppm of gluten is only 20 mg of gluten per kilogram⁴. To clarify further, there’s five grams (that’s 5,000 mg!) of gluten alone in the two slices of bread you used to make that sandwich at lunch. That may seem like a whole lot of nothing, but to someone with Celiac disease, that can mean a bad day.
The recommended daily intake of gluten is 0-50 ppm for someone with Celiac disease, with the target around 20 ppm. That’s only one beer a day! The madness!
So, how are brewer’s helping their gluten intolerant friends? Well, for starters, they’re brewing with gluten-free grains, such as³:
Gluten-free oats
Rice
Corn
Teff
Millet
Buckwheat
Quinoa
Amaranth
Sorghum
Many of our brewing companions will recognize these grains as forms of specialty malts used alongside barley for additional textures and flavors. They will also recognize them as expensive, which is why gluten-free beers tend to be more pricey than their conventional counterparts.
But using these grains alongside our regular hops and yeast can create some interesting and flavorful beers, making it possible for those with gluten intolerances to share more than one. The beers using the grains above are able to be labeled Gluten-Free under the FDA standard that they are below the 20 ppm gluten threshold.
It is important to note that there are also Gluten-removed beers available. These are not the same as gluten-free beers that are brewed with the grains above. Instead, these beers are brewed with the regular barley and then the amount of gluten proteins are reduced using a process called hydrolysis³ (science talk for using water to break down compounds). This reduces the gluten significantly, but some gluten may remain, so these beers can’t legally be labeled ‘gluten-free.’
One caution for people also looking to reduce their sugar intake, gluten-free beers often have sugar added to them to increase body and promote fermentation. This may be something you want to look out for. Which leads us to our next topic.
Finding a Beer to suit your new taste
More and more breweries are popping up with gluten-free and gluten-reduced beers, creating an increasing number of options for those willing to try.
Certainly, in America, the most commercially available gluten-free beer is Redbridge lager from Anheuser-Busch. It is brewed with gluten-free sorghum and balanced with Hallertau and Cascade hops, and its availability and cost make it the most attainable.
Another interesting brewer is Glutenberg out of Montreal, Canada. They are a dedicated gluten-free brewery that uses grains like millet, buckwheat, and corn to create classic microbrew staples like IPAs, stouts, reds, and blondes. They are worth a try for a truly gluten-free experience.
A very popular and award winning gluten-reduced beer is Daura Damm out of Barcelona. This is a lager that is brewed with the same ingredients as their Estrella Damm but with the gluten reduced afterwards.
And if you’re looking for something a little closer to home, one of our favorite and most iconic American microbreweries, Stone, has a gluten-reduced IPA and Double IPA under the hard-to-live-up-to name “Delicious”. But coming from such an icon of flavor, you can bet your butt that it is delicious. We sure think it is.
In Conclusion
Obviously, I am not a doctor, just a simple man trying to find a way to get beers into the hands of adults that want to enjoy them. So, with that said, always see what your local sawbones has to say before trying Gluten-free beers. There is something out there for anyone who is willing to try, and I believe that to be true for gluten-free beer as well – especially with great brands making modern advances to bring you the best.
And I’ll make my bold prediction now: gluten-free foods and beverages are not going away. So, why not give it a try if you’re suffering from gluten-intolerance, or even if it just catches your eye on the liquor store shelf, as it did ours.
Cheers! And best of Luck!
Mr. Brew
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