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Celiac.com 07/20/2012 - Many of the millions of Americans who suffer from celiac disease and gluten-intolerance are eagerly awaiting the FDA's forthcoming standards for gluten-free product labeling. Until then, different agencies may apply differing standards, often with confusing results. The recent dust-up between Widmer Bros. brewing of Oregon, one of many breweries crafting gluten-free beers, and the Treasury Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau ("TTB") over the ingredients in Widmer's gluten-free brew, provides a good illustration of the confusion that can arise when different sets of standards and rules govern what can and cannot be called 'gluten-free.' Widmer Bros. is a division of Craft Brew Alliance (CBA), the nation’s ninth’s largest brewing company, and recently unveiled two new gluten-free beers, Omission Gluten Free Lager and Omission Gluten Free Pale Ale. Unlike most gluten-free beers, which are brewed from sorghum and usually taste very different than traditional beers, Omission is made using traditional ingredients, including barley--which contains gluten. Widmer then uses enzymes to reduce the gluten in both beers to a level that is well below the 20 parts per million (ppm) gluten threshold set by the World Health Organization for gluten-free products; the very standard likely to be followed soon by the FDA. Professional testing show gluten levels for Omission beers at just 5-6 ppm. Meanwhile, those familiar with the final products say they taste very much like traditional beers. However, it is not the gluten levels in the beer that seems to be at issue, but the fact that Widmer begins their brewing process with barley and other traditional ingredients. According to the TTB, wine, beer or distilled spirits made from ingredients that contain gluten cannot be labeled as ‘gluten-free.’ Certainly the commonly accepted European standard of 20 ppm means that the vast majority of products labeled 'gluten-free' still contain measurable levels of gluten, a good deal of those likely above the 5-6 ppm of Widmer's beers. For beer drinkers with celiac disease, finding a gluten-free beer that tastes like a traditional beer is like finding the Holy Grail. Given that Omission beers supposedly taste closer to traditional beers than most gluten-free beers currently on the market, and given that they come in well below the standard for products to be labeled gluten-free, there are undoubtedly a number of people with celiac disease and gluten-intolerance that are hoping Widmer will prevail in their battle against the TTB. What do you think? Should the gluten-free standard be based on scientifically established gluten levels of the final product, or on the gluten levels in the ingredients originally used to create it? Should Widmer be allowed to label and sell their Omission beers as 'gluten-free?' Source: KXL.com

Celiac.com 11/16/2012 - Many of the increasing number of folks who suffer from celiac disease and/or gluten-intolerance also happen to love beer. So, what to do? For those who are loathe to give up on one of their favorite beverages, there are a number of delicious, gluten-free alternatives that will help to keep the smiles coming. For those who prefer cider over beer, we've also included a list of some mighty tasty, gluten-free ciders to warm you on the dark nights ahead. Here is a partial list of gluten-free beers and ciders that will take even the most discerning gluten-free beer drinker through the holiday season and beyond: Gluten-free Beers Harvester Brewing Dark Ale Harvester Brewing is a dedicated gluten-free brewery founded by James Neumeister in 2011, after his wife was diagnosed with celiac disease. Harvester's website says that every beer that they make is gluten-free, and "made in our brewery where no gluten containing items are allowed through the door." In place of wheat and/or barley, Neumeister uses chestnuts, which he roasts and brews specifically for each product Harvester makes. Harvester's Dark Ale uses a very dark, near espresso-like, roasted chestnuts, which yields a brew that has hints of chocolate, coffee, dark fruits, and a rich chestnut finish. Brunehaut Bio Amber Brunehaut's hefty, certified-organic amber ale uses de-glutenized barley to produce a rich, copper colored brew with a beige head, and notes of caramel and fresh bread with hoppy accents of pine and citrus, along with hints of vanilla, toffee, butterscotch and ripe fruit. Alcohol is 6.5% by volume. Estrella Damm Daura In 2011, Estrella Damm's gluten-free Daura fended off entries from all over the globe to win Gold Medals at the World Beer Championships and the International Beer Challenge, and won the World’s Best Gluten-free Lager Award at the World Beer Awards. Gluten-free beer drinkers consistently report that Daura is one of the best beers they have tasted. The beer has limited distribution in the US, and, for many gluten-free beer drinkers, finding it can be like finding the Holy Chalice. Here's a handy link to help you find Estrella Damm Daura in your area. Green’s Quest Gluten Free Tripel Blonde Ale For those who prefer Trappist style ales, but can't have the traditional malted barley, the folks at Green's use millet, sorghum, buckwheat, and rice, to brew a refermented tripel blonde ale that offers an herby, yeasty aroma, with hints of pear and apple, spice, and flavors of candied fruit. Alcohol is 8.5% by volume. Green's Endeavour Dubbel Ale Green's Endeavour is brewed in the classic dubbel fashion. The result is a brew that offers hints of dark-sugar and toffee flavor with a traditional Belgian yeast bouquet. Alcohol is 7.0% by volume. Green’s Discovery Amber Ale Green’s Discovery is a medium-bodied amber ale with subtle caramel and nut flavors, and a refined, herbal hop bouquet and finish. Alcohol is 6.0% by volume. Since 2004, Green's beers have been brewed in Lochristi, Belgium at the highly-regarded DeProef Brewery. Inspired by tasty, full-bodied European beers and developed to a closely guarded secret recipe, these strong beers offer a crisp taste and a refreshing flavor, while eliminating allergens. Because they are bottle-conditioned with genuine Belgian yeast, all of Green's Beers have a full five-year shelf life. According to Green's website, the characteristic tastes and aromas of their beers result from the specially selected de-glutenised barley malt and hop varieties and are brewed to age old recipes. New Planet Tread Lightly Ale For their gluten-free Tread Lightly Ale, New Planet uses sorghum, corn extract, orange peel, hops, and yeast to brew a refreshing, light bodied beer without the aftertaste of many sorghum-based beers. New Planet Off Grid Pale Ale For their Gluten-free Off Grid Pale Ale, New Planet uses sorghum and brown rice extract, molasses, tapioca maltodextrin, caramel color, hops, and yeast to produce a classically styled pale ale with a distinctly deep amber color and great character and body. Three varieties of hops impart a delightful citrus aroma and a spicy hop flavor. Omission Gluten-Free Lager, Omission uses aromatic hops to brew a refreshing and crisp beer in the traditional lager style. Alcohol is 4.6% by volume. Omission Gluten-Free Pale AleBold and hoppy, Omission Pale Ale is a hop-forward American Pale Ale, brewed to showcase the Cascade hop profile. Amber in color, Omission Pale Ale’s floral aroma is complimented by caramel malt body. Alcohol is 5.8% by volume. Their website states that, before shipping, Omission tests gluten levels in every batch both at the brewery, and at an independent lab, using the R5 Competitive ELISA gluten test, to ensure that the beers measure well below the Codex gluten-free standard of 20 ppm or less. Sprecher Shakparo Ale Sprecher's gluten free Shakparo Ale is a West African Shakparo-style beer brewed from sorghum and millet. An unfiltered, light, crisp ale with a cider or fruit highlights and a dry aftertaste. For the more adventurous, Sprecher also brews Mbege Ale, which is an unfiltered ale brewed with bananas, yes, bananas, in the African style. Light hints of banana remain present in the aroma and flavor of this unique offering. Steadfast Sorghum Pale Ale Steadfast brewery uses Cascade-and Columbus hops and White sorghum syrup and molasses to brew their golden amber, Indian/American-style Steadfast Sorghum Pale Ale. Alcohol is 6.8% by volume. Gluten-free Ciders Crispin Browns Lane Browns Lane by Crispin is a lightly sparking, crisply effervescent cider made with traditional English bittersweet cider apples sourced in the Malvern Hills of Worcestershire. The result is a rich cider with a dark straw color, and an aroma that evokes an almost traditional farmhouse cider bouquet. Soft, subtle natural apple sweetness up front, with a slightly dry, woody, lingering finish. Crispin Original Cider Crispin Super Premium Hard Apple Cider is naturally fermented using fresh pressed apple-juice, not apple-juice concentrate, from a premium blend of US West Coast apples, with no added malt, grape-wine, or spirit alcohol. The crisp flavor of Crispin is polished with pure apple juice, with no added sugar, colorants or sorbate or benzoate preservatives and cold filtered for crisp refreshment. Strongbow Cider Strongbow uses a traditional English recipe to brew a crisp, refreshing premium cider. Magners Cider Magners uses 17 varieties of apples and ferments their cider up to two years to deliver a full-bodied, well-rounded traditional cider.

Celiac.com 11/04/2011 - For many folks, fall means changing leaves, crisp weather, football, and beer. Or just crisp weather and beer. Fortunately, for those with gluten sensitivities, the explosion of diagnoses for celiac disease and gluten-intolerance has given rise to an explosion of gluten-free products, including a number of gluten-free beers. "People are becoming more knowledgeable of the symptoms in which gluten can cause on one's health," said New Planet Beer Marketing Director Danielle Quatrochi, "so people are being diagnosed sooner and more often than before. There's also been a lot of press around the benefits of a gluten-free diet, opening the door for companies to add gluten-free options to their product mix." Gluten-free beers have often lacked depth compared to their wheat and barley-infused cousins, and sorghum, a key grain in many gluten-free beer recipes, imparts a distinctly tart flavor. Some gluten-free brewers try to offset the tartness of the millets by using various malts. Others use corn, rice and sugars in place of sorghum. Writer Harold Swaney, together with is wife, Erin, and good friend, Kit Hansen, recently set out to do some taste assessments of gluten-free beers. He gathered all the gluten-free beers from all the breweries he could find. In total, they tasted twelve beers by seven brewers. The trio tasted Toleration Ale, Redbridge Gluten Free Sorghum Beer, New Planet's Off the Grid Pale Ale, 3R Raspberry Ale, and Tread Lightly Ale, St Peter's Sorghum Beer, Bard's Sorghum Malt Beer, New Grist Beer, and Green's Gluten Free Dubbel Dark Ale, Tripel Blonde Ale, and Amber Ale. First up was Redbridge, by Anheuser-Busch. Redbridge is a gluten-free version of a basic American-style lager, made from sorghum, hops, gluten-free yeast. Swaney writes that Redbridge "a clean beer with solid body and nice, subtle finish; the lack of a real sorghum bitter finish." The trio gave Redbridge a thumbs up. Next came New Grist, Lakewood Brewery's offering of sorghum, hops, rice and gluten-free yeast grown on molasses. All three tasters were unimpressed. Swaney wrote that New Grist has a "very light body and is eminently forgettable," with one taster comparing it to a "very light, carbonated sake." After New Grist came Bards Sorghum Malt Beer, which is brewed from sorghum, yeast and hops. Swaney writes that Bards is "strong up front, with notes of caramel and fruit. But, unlike most gluten-free beers that have a distinctly bitter finish, Bards has really no finish. Overall with a solid malt backbone and a nice body." He calls Bards a "respectable gluten-free beer." Next came three beers brewed by Green's. All three use millet, buckwheat, rice, sorghum, hops and yeast. Of Green's Dubbel Dark Ale, Swaney writes that it has "a slight sorghum finish, but it is sweet up front and passes nicely for a Belgian-style dubbel." Of the Tripel Blonde Ale has notes "fruit up front and…the characteristic mouthfeel of a true tripel." Swaney reserves his highest accolades for Green's Amber Ale, a medium-bodied ale with "notes of caramel," very little sorghum finish, that he calls "the most balanced of the three." The group next sampled Toleration from Nick Stafford's Hambleton Ales in England, which is crafted from Challenger, Liberty and Cascade hops, top-fermenting yeast and specially prepared sugars. Swaney wrote that Toleration "didn't taste much like beer. More like a slightly hoppy barleywine. It had an aroma of dates and figs and was very sweet, but it had almost no carbonation." His wife, Erin, "compared it to a port." Next up was New Planet's Off the Grid Pale Ale, 3R Raspberry Ale, and Tread Lightly Ale. All three are made with sorghum, hops and yeast. The Pale Ale adds brown rice extract and molasses, 3R Raspberry Ale adds corn extract, natural Oregon raspberry puree, and orange peel, while Tread Lightly Ale adds corn extract, and orange peel. Among the New Planet offerings, Swaney had the highest regard for Off the Grid Pale Ale. He commended its "malty backbone and hoppy finish." saying that it was "hard to tell it was a gluten-free beer." Swaney says his friend, Kit, who had not tasted a real beer for four years, was "blown away by how much it reminded him of a true pale ale." Swaney characterizes Tread Lightly Ale as "a very light beer with a distinct sorghum finish," while the 3R Raspberry Ale is a very carbonated, light ale that evokes a raspberry cider. St. Peters, which is made with Sorghum, hops, water. Swaney notes that folks who like European lagers will like this beer. "It starts very bitter, with a distinct grassy aroma," he says, noting that St. Peter's is "definitely a beer that paired well with food." Read Harold Swaney's full article at Herald.net.

Celiac.com 01/31/2012 - Barley is used to make most traditionally brewed commercial beer, but whether the finished product contains significant amounts of gluten has remained unresolved. A number of breweries have been labeling certain of their barley-brewed beers as 'low gluten." The breweries have contended that the brewing process eliminates or reduces the gluten content in beer to levels that make it acceptable for people with sensitivity to gluten. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a recent study of sixty commercial beers has debunked the idea that the beer brewing process eliminates gluten or reduces it to levels insignificant for people with celiac disease or gluten-intolerance. Beers tested in a new study, including some brands labeled "low-gluten," contain hordein, the form of gluten found in barley, at levels that could trigger symptoms in patients with celiac disease, according to researchers. You can find the full study to address this controversy over the gluten content of beer in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research. In their article, Michelle Colgrave and colleagues explain that celiac disease affects over than 2 million people worldwide. They explain that their study faced an initial challenge because detecting gluten in malted products using existing tests was difficult, as the tests were largely inaccurate. So the scientists developed a highly accurate new test for hordein, the gluten component in barley-based beers. As many expected, their analysis of 60 commercial beers found that eight labeled "gluten-free" did not contain gluten. All eight of the commercial beers labeled 'gluten-free' were, in fact, gluten-free. But most regular, commercial beers had significant levels of gluten. Most alarming was that discovery that the two beers labeled as "low-gluten" each contained about as much gluten as a regular beer. With the market for gluten-free products continuing to expand rapidly, it is no surprise that products may slip onto the market which are targeted at people with celiac disease or gluten-intolerance, but which actually contain levels of gluten that are unacceptable and potentially harmful to people who are sensitive to the proteins. The problem is partly compounded by a lack of consistent standards for what constitutes "gluten-free," or what levels best address the needs of people with celiac disease and gluten-intolerance. That leaves the burden for making decisions about what products are safe or not safe largely up to consumers, who must rely on a loose patchwork of manufacturers and product certification organizations that are, hopefully, knowledgeable, scientific and reliable. When science is hazy, room exists for spurious. The lesson here is that commercial gluten-free beers seem to be genuinely gluten-free, and safe for people with celiac disease and gluten-intolerance, while anything labeled 'low gluten' is potentially bad news. Source: ACS' Journal of Proteome Research