13 replies to this topic

[buckwheat]

Omission has some process that is supposed to remove break down the barley where it is safe. Each 6 pack has a date and you can log on to the website to see the test results (how many PPM of barley is remaining). My batch was <10 PPM, I noticed some batches were only <5PPM. After drinkin a few I had slight gluten effects but it went away quickly. Drank 5 that night felt ok but a little worse in the morning, and it was not a handover effect. Next day I drank 1 that afternoon and was very tired from just that 1, I guess cause my guts were already damaged. This beer has a high alcohol %, but I'm sure it was the barley. Rash flared up, and other signs that it was obviously from the beer, Damn shame, I hope eventually someone gets the removal process right. Goes to show that the "20 ppm" isnt even safe. Kind of depressing.

[peeptoad]

Yeah, I read on another site about a beer that uses gluten ingredients, but then adds an enzyme that is supposed to remove the gluten somehow. Not sure I'd trust that when there are several decent beers on the market that don't even use gluten ingredients to begin with (decent to me anyway, but I'm not a big beer drinker: Green's and New Planet).

[Kate79]

I really hope these 'low gluten' beers disappear. Haven't tried Omission (and won't) but I react to Estrella beer, which is supposed to be 6 ppm. I'll stick to drinking the acutal gluten free beer - New Planet and Green's are good and Harvester beer (out of Portland, OR, like Omission) is really good, too. Harvester isn't widely available yet, but I think you can order their stuff online.

[Adalaide]

Tests for barley gluten are notoriously inaccurate. Even if I were a drinking girl I wouldn't drink something that says right on the package that it is made of what is essentially poison to us.

[SensitiveMe]

When I was researching Rice Dream rice milk which also uses a barley enzyme which they say they extract I found several reports about barley testing being unreliable and grossly underestimating the actual level of the barley protein remaining.
To me the extraction process of barley is a moot point when there is no reliable way to test for its presence anyway. Please don't ingest any product that says it uses a barley enzyme and extracts it. Perhaps it may be safe for some but not for others and so don't take that chance.

[U Gluten Free]

The FDA has stated that there is no validated test for gluten in "hydrolyzed foods" (such as sourdough bread or barley based beer). When I last checked, the Tobacco Tax Bureau had ruled that no beer based on barley can be labelled as gluten-free in the US. The technologies that some breweries are trying are exciting, but unproven.
I can give more detail in a private message.

[kareng]

The FDA has stated that there is no validated test for gluten in "hydrolyzed foods" (such as sourdough bread or barley based beer). When I last checked, the Tobacco Tax Bureau had ruled that no beer based on barley can be labelled as gluten-free in the US. The technologies that some breweries are trying are exciting, but unproven.
I can give more detail in a private message.

No need to pm. It's most helpful to everyone to have the info/answer posted in the thread with the question.

I have posted this here before. This is the federal " ruling" . Page 3 has the part you might be most interested in.

http://www.ttb.gov/rulings/2012-2.pdf

[LilLil]

I really hope these 'low gluten' beers disappear. Haven't tried Omission (and won't) but I react to Estrella beer, which is supposed to be 6 ppm. I'll stick to drinking the acutal gluten free beer - New Planet and Green's are good and Harvester beer (out of Portland, OR, like Omission) is really good, too. Harvester isn't widely available yet, but I think you can order their stuff online.

Do the gluten free beers actually taste like regular beer though?

[nvsmom]

Estrella in Canada was labelled 3ppm and it got me. I was so excited to try a gluten-free beer that I didn't read the ingredient label until the stomach ache hit. lol

LilLil - I find the gluten-free beers aren't too bad. They do taste like beer BUT they often end up tasting a bit more like a home brew. I find they are often more yeasty that the average bottle beer.

[Lisa]

The FDA has stated that there is no validated test for gluten in "hydrolyzed foods" (such as sourdough bread or barley based beer).

There is no legal criteria for testing gluten in the US, regardless of specifics.

I don't worry about "hydrolyzed protein" stuff. Some very sensitive, may.

Edit: I've been watching the Golden Globes and twenty people may have posted prior to me. Disregard my advise if you choose.

[Kate79]

Do the gluten free beers actually taste like regular beer though?

Some get pretty close, depending on what type of beer you like. I find the ones with a lot of hops taste more like a beer than the ones with a more mild flavor - maybe because the hopps taste covers up the sorghum flavor. The best gluten free beer I've had is from Harvester, but it's hard to find unless you live in Oregon/Washington, or you order online, which is pricey. New Planet and Green's are pretty good, too, and you can find those more easily. New Planet has a pale ale that tastes a lot like a regular IPA - they also do a raspberry beer and a reglar ale that aren't bad. Green's comes in Blonde, Amber and Dark, and all three are pretty good. A little sweeter and frutier than a regular beer, but still very tasty.

[LilLil]

Estrella in Canada was labelled 3ppm and it got me. I was so excited to try a gluten-free beer that I didn't read the ingredient label until the stomach ache hit. lol

LilLil - I find the gluten-free beers aren't too bad. They do taste like beer BUT they often end up tasting a bit more like a home brew. I find they are often more yeasty that the average bottle beer.

thanks, i think that's great that they taste like beer but i do not think it's great that it is more yeasty than regular beer though. that may pose a problem also with the gut if too much yeast in my opinion. not sure how much truth that is to the yeast issue, but i guess i'm still trying to figure out what i am sensitive to, whether it be the gluten, wheat, yeast, or all three. i haven't had an official diagnosis yet, but i guess i could try it and see how i react.

[LilLil]

Some get pretty close, depending on what type of beer you like. I find the ones with a lot of hops taste more like a beer than the ones with a more mild flavor - maybe because the hopps taste covers up the sorghum flavor. The best gluten free beer I've had is from Harvester, but it's hard to find unless you live in Oregon/Washington, or you order online, which is pricey. New Planet and Green's are pretty good, too, and you can find those more easily. New Planet has a pale ale that tastes a lot like a regular IPA - they also do a raspberry beer and a reglar ale that aren't bad. Green's comes in Blonde, Amber and Dark, and all three are pretty good. A little sweeter and frutier than a regular beer, but still very tasty.

thanks! i like light beers like coors light.

[Pegleg84]

Buckwheat, I'm so glad to hear I'm not alone!
My boyfriend, who ears serious brownie points for being my beer mule and bringing me Greens and New Planet from the US, got me a couple bottles of a german "gluten removed" beer (brunhauer or something like that...) I was highly skeptical. And after being brave enough to have a bottle, I was still highly skeptical and also very disappointed. It kind of sucked! and I started feeling odd pretty quickly. It might have been psychosotic at first, but the next day I was definitely not my best. So the 2nd bottle has been sitting in my fridge untouched cause I'm afraid of it.

So a big fat NO WAY on the "gluten removal" thing. It should be debunked, or at least labeled for what it is so people can assess the risk for themselves.

But there are so many good gluten free beers out there. Before the beer mule, I knew of only 3 available in Canada (Nicklebrook Gluten Free is my mainstay), but now I know there are several being made in the US and Europe (New Planet and Greens are great!), and in Canada there's now an amazing craft brewery in Montreal doing amazing things (Brassieus Sans Gluten), and even a small local Toronto outfit malting their own millet and just doing casks right now. So good!

gluten-free beer isn't quite the same as the real stuff, but it's getting better.

If it says barley. That means gluten. Never again.