Fight Brews Over Gluten-free Beer Standards

I drink Omission, and there is a "test results" baby number on each bottle. I can use this code on their website to view a report for the batch of beer I purchased. Supposedly this is done by a third party lab. Are you telling me their testing is bogus?

I tried the Omissin pale ale at a restaurant here in Oregon last night and woke up with a disproportionately severe headache. (My gluten intolerance manifests itself mostly in migraines, fatigue, and intestinal distress.) I would say I was definitely affected in some part by the remaining gluten.

As a celiac for over 30 years, I am incensed by the tactic of this beer company. There has been a lot of progress in gluten-free labeling - this is a horrible step back. I will never buy another product from Craft Beers, as I clearly can't trust them to respect my disease. It isn't the same as labeling "trans-fat free" or some nonsense like that - this corporate lying/partial truth telling could severely affect people's health - and with improper labeling celiacs would be able to figure out where it was coming from (as it said "gluten-free").

My husband did have a gluten reaction to the Omission beer..."gluten removed" allows us to decide for ourselves based on our individual sensitivity!

I tried Omission beer and had an immediate reaction. I don't normally react to slight cross contamination, but this beer did cause a reaction.

My father used to get a migraine when he drank beer, so he stopped. I don't recall him having any problems with any gluten but it was 25 years ago. I would be curious to know what other reactions people are having to Omission. Celiac for 12 years here, officially, but I think since I was perhaps 12.

I thought for awhile I had a reaction to bourbon, joint pain and a weird itchy, itchy rash on the same ankle. It went away in a week, and I've tried some bourbon that they test but don't mark because of the cost to label gluten-free. No problems. So I'd like to try Omission beers.

I'm glad more people are becoming aware of this attempt by Omission to dilute the meaning of gluten-free labeling. It's infuriating to see how often their beers are intentionally marketed, if not necessarily labeled (yet) as gluten-free, when it's becoming clear that the gluten fragments their process leaves behind are enough to make people sick. Let's hope that OMB rules the right way. It's hard enough for people with celiac without having to worry about misleading labeling standards.

I drink Omission, and there is a "test results" baby number on each bottle. I can use this code on their website to view a report for the batch of beer I purchased. Supposedly this is done by a third party lab. Are you telling me their testing is bogus?

The test is only legitimate in theory; no clinical studies have been done to show that Omission is actually safe. It's the same deal as GMOs--they're safe in theory, but no studies have been done to test whether or not the theory reflects reality.

I drink Omission, and there is a "test results" baby number on each bottle. I can use this code on their website to view a report for the batch of beer I purchased. Supposedly this is done by a third party lab. Are you telling me their testing is bogus?

Tony -

The issue is that the enzyme process breaks down the gluten into pieces. The ELISA test will only detect whole gluten proteins and not protein fragments.

So while Omission may beat the test, there are still fragments of the gluten protein floating around in the beer. Some people may still react to these fragments, or they may not... no science has been done yet. The only way to know for sure would be to do biopsies on patients who have only had the beer without any other sources of gluten.

Remember, many Celiacs can be reacting and damaging their intestines without obvious symptoms. I have known I had celiac for 20+ years and in my late teens/twenties it would take a serious gluten poisoning for me to experience noticeable symptoms. Now that I am in my 30's I am much more sensitive.

Glad the FDA is standing up to the mega-bucks of CBA, who are trying to market an untested product as being safe. The only thing omitted from Omission is the truth about its potential to cause harm! Without clinical evidence that demonstrates Omission's safety to all gluten-intolerant, they should not be able to label it as gluten-free.

Personally, I've had reactions to the pale ale, and I won't touch the stuff.

I agree with J.L. that everyone needs to consider their own sensitivity. I am not suspicious of Craft Beers intentions, and I do not think they are trying to use tricky advertising to hurt anyone. I think it helps for context to understand that the brewmaster at Widmer Brothers created Omission because both his wife and another brewmaster at Widmer Brothers are gluten-intolerant. Oregon Live had a great article about it.

I do wish we had a science-based standard for people with Celiac. Something like "<20 ppm is okay for gluten intolerance but Celiacs must have <2 ppm to be safe." I hope we will get there someday.

Bought Omission, drank one bottle, had a reaction. Returned the rest of the 6 pack. I vote "gluten removed." I don't need a guessing game when it comes to my health.