So I have a question.
I'm a chemist and my friends sometimes get me to make them alcohol. I'm apparently very good at it and have won a few local competitions.
Now one friend with Celiac has asked me to make her gluten free beer. I start from scratch, mill the grains myself, zero chemicals. I'm confused about what grains are safe to use for a gluten free beer. Websites are telling me millet, sorghum, buckwheat, maize, and rice (ewww no thank you). Are these really ok to use? Nothing even resembling gluten in there that I should know about?
Is there anyone here who can drink gluten free beer without getting sick?
It would be amazing to be able to drink beer again. I want get creative with dry hopping and maybe some smoke/herbs/nuts/fruit to get some interesting flavors.
Gluten Free Beer
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Corn maybe...but that might just turn into Vodka 
Good question this makes for an interesting chemistry thought. I thought beer was all about the hops and malt flavors.....so will be curious what people come up with.
Good question this makes for an interesting chemistry thought. I thought beer was all about the hops and malt flavors.....so will be curious what people come up with.
To Succeed you have to Believe in something with such a passion that it becomes a Reality - Anita Roddick
Dx LC April 2012 had symptoms since Aug 2007
Dx LC April 2012 had symptoms since Aug 2007
There is approximately 4 companys that make gluten free beer price range is $7.00-$22.00 per 6 pack depending on your area.
I went with RedBridge at $7.00 and have no problems.
http://www.redbridgebeer.com/
Hopes this gets you in the right direction.
Terry
I went with RedBridge at $7.00 and have no problems.
http://www.redbridgebeer.com/
Hopes this gets you in the right direction.
Terry
Very interesting, we do have carriers of that brand in my area, even more ironic is in the tiny town I live in one of the outlying road names is called Sorghum Hollow....I bet Sorghum was grown somewhere along that road at one time to be named that
To Succeed you have to Believe in something with such a passion that it becomes a Reality - Anita Roddick
Dx LC April 2012 had symptoms since Aug 2007
Dx LC April 2012 had symptoms since Aug 2007
My husband has been GF for a year and beer has been his biggest struggle. So, we have 4 types of "GF" beer in our fridge 
3 are "crafted to remove gluten"-Daura Damm from Spain, Omission is U.S. and Kukko from Finland. Then there is Green's from Belgium that is water, millet, rice, sorghum, hops and yeast. He like Daura the least. I know there is a lot of debate online about this issue with the "crafted to remove gluten". I can also say we were at an Asian a fusion restaurant locally that brews their own beer and they do have a "rice" beer. I am not a beer fan, so I can't speak to any of the tastes/reactivity.
If you can come up with some neat gf beer concoctions-you may have a wide open market!
Taia
3 are "crafted to remove gluten"-Daura Damm from Spain, Omission is U.S. and Kukko from Finland. Then there is Green's from Belgium that is water, millet, rice, sorghum, hops and yeast. He like Daura the least. I know there is a lot of debate online about this issue with the "crafted to remove gluten". I can also say we were at an Asian a fusion restaurant locally that brews their own beer and they do have a "rice" beer. I am not a beer fan, so I can't speak to any of the tastes/reactivity.
If you can come up with some neat gf beer concoctions-you may have a wide open market!
Taia
Chemgirl,
All of the grains and the buckwheat (which is not a grain) that you mentioned would be safe to use. The problem is the barley malt used to begin the malting process. Barley contains hordein, which contains peptides similar to the gliadins and glutenins found in wheat gluten, so that introduces a gluten equivalent into the process.
If you can successfully initiate the malting process without barley (or any other source of gluten) you will be home free.
Most GF beer is actually low-gluten beer that slides in under the 20 ppm gluten labeling limit, but I believe I read somewhere that someone found a way to make beer that is actually GF.
Tex
All of the grains and the buckwheat (which is not a grain) that you mentioned would be safe to use. The problem is the barley malt used to begin the malting process. Barley contains hordein, which contains peptides similar to the gliadins and glutenins found in wheat gluten, so that introduces a gluten equivalent into the process.
If you can successfully initiate the malting process without barley (or any other source of gluten) you will be home free.
Most GF beer is actually low-gluten beer that slides in under the 20 ppm gluten labeling limit, but I believe I read somewhere that someone found a way to make beer that is actually GF.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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jessica329
- Adélie Penguin
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The only one that I think is tasty is this one
http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/th ... sonale.htm
http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/th ... sonale.htm
Jessica
Lymphocytic colitis August 2012
Lymphocytic colitis August 2012
I saw this topic, and by coincidence there was an article on gluten-reduced beer in the May 30 issue of Chemical and Engineering News that my husband receives. It gives all of the details on how "real" beers made with barley malt can be labeled "gluten reduced".
There is a product routinely used for many decades in the brewing process called "Brewers Clarex", originally developed for brewers to reduce the haze that is caused by proteins crashing out of solution as the beer chills. It is an enzyme, a prolyl endopeptidase for those of you who are biochemists!
The gluten peptide fragments in many types of grains are broken up by this enzyme. Clarex is effective in reducing the level of gluten in beer below the 20 ppm threshold legally required to claim that something is gluten free. But the FDA is not convinced, and states: "It is uncertain that cleavage at proline residues totally eliminates concern for people with celiac disease because there may be immunopathogenic fragments still present." So for now, even if the tests for gluten in beers treated with Clarex are below 20 ppm, the beers can't claim to be gluten free, but only gluten-reduced.
My daughter-in-law has celiac, and has been drinking beer for many years, claiming that for some reason it didn't affect her. Now I know why!!
I personally drink Omission Beer, put out by Widmer Brewery, without any problems. The brewmaster for Omission was interviewed for the article I read, and he was inspired to develop it because of his wife, who was diagnosed with celiac. He has experimented with the amount of Clarex, and they add additional Clarex to their beer, and test each batch. He said that the batches are always test below 10 ppm, and could possibly be lower, but that is the detection limit of the ELISA test they use. They post the ELISA results of each batch on their web site.
The gluten free beers made from other grains like sorhgam, rice, etc can be OK, but for me they are far inferior in flavor and carbonation to real beer made with barley. So I am glad that there is now a good alternative for me.
Rosie
There is a product routinely used for many decades in the brewing process called "Brewers Clarex", originally developed for brewers to reduce the haze that is caused by proteins crashing out of solution as the beer chills. It is an enzyme, a prolyl endopeptidase for those of you who are biochemists!
The gluten peptide fragments in many types of grains are broken up by this enzyme. Clarex is effective in reducing the level of gluten in beer below the 20 ppm threshold legally required to claim that something is gluten free. But the FDA is not convinced, and states: "It is uncertain that cleavage at proline residues totally eliminates concern for people with celiac disease because there may be immunopathogenic fragments still present." So for now, even if the tests for gluten in beers treated with Clarex are below 20 ppm, the beers can't claim to be gluten free, but only gluten-reduced.My daughter-in-law has celiac, and has been drinking beer for many years, claiming that for some reason it didn't affect her. Now I know why!!
I personally drink Omission Beer, put out by Widmer Brewery, without any problems. The brewmaster for Omission was interviewed for the article I read, and he was inspired to develop it because of his wife, who was diagnosed with celiac. He has experimented with the amount of Clarex, and they add additional Clarex to their beer, and test each batch. He said that the batches are always test below 10 ppm, and could possibly be lower, but that is the detection limit of the ELISA test they use. They post the ELISA results of each batch on their web site.
The gluten free beers made from other grains like sorhgam, rice, etc can be OK, but for me they are far inferior in flavor and carbonation to real beer made with barley. So I am glad that there is now a good alternative for me.
Rosie
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time………Thomas Edison
Started a batch using shaved carrots and quinoa for the mash rather than grains. In theory this will give me enough sugar for primary fermentation and then flavor will be imparted from the hops. I'm going to dry hop as well so hopefully the floral notes make up for the lack of malt.
Will let you know how it goes. 4 weeks until a finished product!
Will let you know how it goes. 4 weeks until a finished product!