Wheat Free Beer

[kennyn]

Hi guys

I have been diagnosed with coeliac after a blood test and endoscopy and have been folowing a gluten free diet for over a year. I have felt much better, but discovered many other things affect me negatively too, e.g. dairy, caffeine, nuts, chilli. Anyway, I recently started a new job which sees me working on beer clients. I decided to try some lager last night again just to see how my body reacted. I tried bud as it is wheat free (but not gluten free). I drank 4 bottles and so far (mid-morning the next day) I have seen no side effects. How can this be? Why is the gluten in it not making my stomach do cartwheels?! Anyone offer an explanation?

Kenny.

[blueeyedmanda]

Sometimes you may get a delayed reaction or no reaction at all. That doesn't mean the gluten isn't hurting you. It is still doing damage inside your body. Some people are going gluten free can get exposed to gluten and not get sick. Some members will get violently ill. It all depends on the person. I would not knowingly eat gluten, the hidden reactions scare me.

[par18]

Hi guys

I have been diagnosed with coeliac after a blood test and endoscopy and have been folowing a gluten free diet for over a year. I have felt much better, but discovered many other things affect me negatively too, e.g. dairy, caffeine, nuts, chilli. Anyway, I recently started a new job which sees me working on beer clients. I decided to try some lager last night again just to see how my body reacted. I tried bud as it is wheat free (but not gluten free). I drank 4 bottles and so far (mid-morning the next day) I have seen no side effects. How can this be? Why is the gluten in it not making my stomach do cartwheels?! Anyone offer an explanation?

Kenny.

Interesting. Not that you had no reaction but that you say Bud has no wheat. I see you refer to your condition as coeliac so are you from outside the US? If not wheat then what other grain is used with the barley malt to make Bud beer? I once heard that "some" rice was used (because it was cheaper) but could never confirm. I just think if drinking something like Bud was ok I would have heard about it from AB by now. Good luck.

Tom

[Tim-n-VA]

Interesting. Not that you had no reaction but that you say Bud has no wheat. I see you refer to your condition as coeliac so are you from outside the US? If not wheat then what other grain is used with the barley malt to make Bud beer? I once heard that "some" rice was used (because it was cheaper) but could never confirm. I just think if drinking something like Bud was ok I would have heard about it from AB by now. Good luck.

Tom

On www.wheat-free.com, in the FAQs, there is a quote supposedly from Budweiser that states:

With regard to your inquiry, Budweiser is indeed produced without wheat. The key ingredients in this product are water, barley malt, rice, hops, and brewers yeast."

Still, the absence of a reaction in one person isn't evidence that drinking Bud is okay for celiacs.

[elonwy]

I have found that my reactions to gluten from barley are more varied than my reactions to gluten from wheat. They also tend to be a little more subtle. I'm referring specifically to a time when I unknowingly ate something with Malt flavoring, and another time when a malt beverage was involved. I though I had made myself clear, but was still served the wrong thing. My reaction was no where near as severe, which may just be a quantity thing, but it did mess with me. There were no regular symptoms, just a sense of "something feels off".

If you want to drink an AB product, drink RedBridge. It tastes better than bud ever did, and its made just for us. You can order it online from Bevmo, or ask your local health food or liquor store to carry it. Heck, tell the beer clients you're allergic to beer, maybe they'll make more gluten-free

[Guest Doll]

Hi guys

I have been diagnosed with coeliac after a blood test and endoscopy and have been folowing a gluten free diet for over a year. I have felt much better, but discovered many other things affect me negatively too, e.g. dairy, caffeine, nuts, chilli. Anyway, I recently started a new job which sees me working on beer clients. I decided to try some lager last night again just to see how my body reacted. I tried bud as it is wheat free (but not gluten free). I drank 4 bottles and so far (mid-morning the next day) I have seen no side effects. How can this be? Why is the gluten in it not making my stomach do cartwheels?! Anyone offer an explanation?

Kenny.

For some Celiacs, myself included, wheat gives us a very immediate strong reaction, where as Barley does not. That's not to say that no damage is being done, just that you don't get the same immediate "glutened" symptoms. For me, a wheat based glutening results in a severe "allergic" like response. Not so much with barley. In that case, I tend to get moderate abdominal pain and mild nausea, but none of my other symptoms.

This is likely because although both wheat and barley contain gluten, the *differences* in their molecular structure are enough to cause a slightly less reactive response in some Celiacs. At least, this is my best guess!

Another idea that I am toying with is that I have a wheat allergy *in addition* to Celiac, which is possible. That would explain why I react so violently to wheat gluten but not as violently to barley (but I still react). This could explain the varrying reactions to wheat and barley.

Assuming Bud has not changed it's ingredients, it's a safe bet to say it contains gluten.

Lastly, new research has shown that its possible for some Celiacs go through temporary periods where

they *don't* react to gluten, or the immune response varies. This goes along with the fact that many autoimmune diseases seem to "wax and wane", and go through periods of flare and remission.

As suggested, you may also develop a delayed reaction. This doesn't happen to me often, but it can happen.

Either way, I would suggest you try Le Messenger beer. I used to drink Canadian and Bud (Oh how I miss you! ) and prefer a dry beer. Les Messeneger actually tastes very similar to both of these beers, and it's gluten-free.