RateBeer
   Home Sign Up or Login Advanced Search
   People Ratings Events Places Forums Shop Magazine
  
  


Article by SilkTork
Send feedback










Subscribe to Ratebeer.com Weekly RateBeer Weekly Magazine > Features

Gluten-free beers

A LIST OF KNOWN GLUTEN-FREE OR LOW GLUTEN BEERS

April 26, 2007      
Rochester, ENGLAND -



hile beer may be made from any starch-based material, notably grains, the most common ingredients are barley and wheat. Unfortunately some people have an intolerance to gliadin found in wheat and hordein, the "gluten" of barley. Such people only drink gluten-free beer otherwise they might suffer from abdominal pain or malnutrition.

GFA - a well-distributed British gluten-free beer
Gluten-free beer is made from non-barley and wheat ingredients, such as rice or sorghum. The rules for labeling a beer "gluten-free" vary around the world, with levels varying from zero gluten to as much as 20 parts per million. Some brewers such as Anheuser-Busch and Sapporo have argued that their lagers which contain rice and in which the barley has been converted into non-harmful amino acids are safe for gluten-intolerant drinkers to consume, but this argument is strongly debated.

This is a list of the gluten-free beers of which I am aware. There are also the sorghum based beers of Africa, but they are largely unobtainable outside the region in which they are produced. Nigerian Guinness while using sorghum, is based on a barley wort supplied by the St. James’s Gate brewery in Dublin, and so is not gluten free.

Let me know of any other gluten-free beers and I will add them to the list.


A simple list of beers which are known to be gluten free or gluten low.
Beer Type
BreweryCountryABVComments
Aztek GoldPale AleSilly YakAustralia4.5
Bards Tale Dragons GoldPale LagerGordon Biersch USA4.7
Bi-Aglut 76Pale LagerBirra Dreher Italy 5
BeerUp Glutenfrei Unknown Grieskirchen Austria 4.5
Billabong Ginger BeerUnknownBillabongAustralia4.5
German Hirse Premium Pale Lager Schnitzerbrau Germany 5
Glutaner Pale Lager Huyghe Belgium 5.2
Greens Discovery Strong Pale Ale Huyghe Belgium 6
Greens Endeavour Strong Brown Ale Huyghe Belgium 6
Greens Explorer Strong Dark Ale Huyghe Belgium 6
Greens Herald Pale Ale Huyghe Belgium 4
Greens Pilgrim Unknown Huyghe Belgium 4.7
Greens Pioneer Pale Lager Huyghe Belgium 5
Greens Trailblazer Pale Lager Huyghe Belgium 4.7
GFA Pale Ale Hambleton UK 4.2
GFL Pale Lager Hambleton UK 4.8
Koff I Pale Lager Sinebrychoff Finland 2.5Very low gluten
4.1 Taytelainen Kevyt Olut / Saxon Pale Lager Sinebrychoff Finland 4.1Very low gluten
Kukko Pils III Pale Lager Laitilan Finland 4.5
Tumma Kukko Dark Lager Laitilan Finland 3.8
New Grist Unknown Lakefront USA 5
La Messagere Pale Ale Nouvelle-France Canada 4.7
O’B Pale AlePale AleO’Brien Australia 4.5
O’B Premium Pale Lager O’Brien Australia 4.5
Passover Honey Beer Mead Ramapo Valley USA 5.2
Redbridge Pale Lager Anheuser-Busch USA 4.8
Schlafly Gluten-free Ale Pale Ale Saint Louis USA
Sorghum Molasses Brown Brown Ale Outer Banks USA Low gluten
Toleration Pale Ale Hambleton UK 4.4
BlondePale LagerBillabongAustralia4.5
Apple BeerUnknownBillabongAustralia5
Residenz Bio-Reis-GoldPale LagerLiebharts Germany4.3
Residenz Bio-Reis-Gold DunkelDark LagerLiebhartsGermany4.3


Give Us Your Feedback
I felt this story was    Excellent    Good    Average    Poor


Anyone can submit an article to RateBeer. Send your edited, HTML formatted article to our Editor-In-Chief.

start quote Some brewers such as Anheuser-Busch and Sapporo have argued that their lagers which contain rice are safe for gluten-intolerant drinkers but this argument is strongly debated end quote
Related stories Related stories

Other Stories By SilkTork

  Scottish Ale
       Feb 23, 2006

  British Bitter
       Jan 26, 2006

  Drinking in The Street
       Jan 19, 2006

  Pub Crawls of London
       Nov 17, 2005

  A Question of Carbonation
       Oct 20, 2005

  Frank Booth’s Favourite
       Feb 10, 2005

  Who is King in Horsham?
       Jan 20, 2005

  A Modern British Brewer
       Jan 13, 2005

  How To Write A Perfect Rating.
       Dec 9, 2004





About RateBeer | Add A Beer | Add A Brewer | Edit Personal Info | 100 Beer Club | FAQ | Log out | Feedback? | Copyright 2000-2008, RateBeer LLC