About Gluten-Free Beer
1/2/12
Study on the GF status of beers, 2012
An Australian team of researchers conducted a comprehensive study on gluten levels in beer. Testing 50 types of beer, some presence of gluten proteins was found in all beers made from wheat or barley. This included two-barley-based beers that claim to remove gluten through special processing after the brewing process is complete. The beers that use alternative grains such as sorghum, teff, millet or rice had few, if any, traces of gluten. The study was published in the Journal of Proteome Research, Vol 11, 2012. 3/29
The Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colorado, 2011
In their competition they included a category for Gluten-Free Beers. The winners out of the 15 entries were:
- Gold - Gluten-Free Lemon pale, Strange Brewing Co., Denver, Co
- Silver - New Grist lakefront Brewery, Milwaukee, WI
- Bronze - Seeley Axe White, Kettlehouse Brewing Colk Missoula, MT
From the World Beer Championships, the "Buyer's Guide for Beer Lovers" was decided on and then printed in the All About Beer Magazine, Vol.32, No. 6, January 2012. The following beers received high rankings in the Gluten-Free Ale category:
- Gold - Gluten-Free Quest Tripel Blonde Ale, Green's Brewery (Belgium)
- Silver - Gluten-Free Discovery Amber Ale, Green's Brewery and Gluten-Free Endeavour Dubbel Dark Ale, Green's Brewery
- Bronze - Brunehaut Blond Gluten Free Ale, Brasserie de Brunehaut (Belgium), Brunehaut Amber Gluten Free Ale, Brasserie de Brunehaut, and Sorgham Beer, St. Peter's Brewery (England)
Sorghum GF Beers. Read comments made on SillyYak site:
- "One of the nice things about sorghum beers is that they don't have to be ice cold to taste good; cool room temperature is good enough. There is a Belgian beer, Green's, that is gluten free. They make several varieties. Their chocolate is made from sorghum, rice and buckwheat and tastes super but is expensive."
- "New Grist is brewed from sorghum, hops, water, rice and gluten-free yeast grown on molasses."
- "Redbridge and Bard's are both made from sorghum. I like Bard's better for taste." 12/31
Estrella Daura beer: See a review of this reportedly GF beer made from barley on the Celiac.com site. Others have posted that they love it, as it is closer to regular beers in taste. Imported from Spain. 1/1/12
Chow.com: Read a negative review of the current GF beers titled "GF-Beer: Not for Beer Geeks".
New Planet Beer: "We are a family (and friend) owned brewery from Boulder CO. Our founder is a diagnosed Celiac so all of our beers are brewed with 100% gluten-free grains, and we offer a variety of styles. You can find more information regarding our brews at www.newplanetbeer.com.
We are widely available in Southern California, and in May, during National Celiac Awareness Month, we will be the Beer of the Month at Whole Foods."
Peter Archer 2/16
