| GLUTEN FREE WINE, GLUTEN FREE BEER and | | | | the brewing process, or even the yeast itself may |
| GLUTEN FREE LIQUOR, Does it matter? | | | | be grown in a medium which contains Gluten. |
| Eating only gluten free products is vital to any celiac | | | | Therefore if you are a Coeliac, you can not drink |
| or gluten intolerant person, so what about alcohol in | | | | Beer that contains Gluten otherwise you will become |
| general? | | | | sick." (Ref 4) |
| Firstly it appears that there are three distinct types: | | | | All articles are definitive on the point that if a celiac |
| General liquor, gluten free beer and gluten free | | | | wishes to drink beer, they must drink gluten free |
| wines. | | | | beer only. |
| GLUTEN FREE ALCOHOL | | | | GLUTEN FREE WINE |
| Many articles suggest that as long as alcoholic | | | | WINE is one of the most contentious areas of the |
| beverages are not based on wheat or other gluten | | | | gluten free alcohol industry. The majority of articles |
| grains that they will be gluten free. They suggest | | | | suggest that wine is naturally gluten free as it is |
| using liquors such as grappa (made from grapes), | | | | made from grapes and no grains are involved in the |
| ouzo (aniseed, fennel seed aromatic plants ) rum | | | | preservative process. However other articles suggest |
| (sugar Cane ), sake (rice ) etc. Other articles have | | | | a different story. |
| suggested that gluten is destroyed in the distillation | | | | "Some wines are aged in barrels that once contained |
| process so that all alcoholic beverages will be gluten | | | | another substance that could have held a glutinous |
| free. | | | | product. This is rare, but can happen. Also you will |
| However a 1992 Flemish Celiac Society report found | | | | want to avoid Wine Coolers. Wine Coolers are NOT |
| gluten in several varieties of distilled liquor. The levels | | | | Gluten Free, because they contain barely malt." (Ref |
| varied from zero to 200-mg gluten/liter with the | | | | 3) |
| highest amount in "Creme de Framboise" (200 mg | | | | "There is also some concern with cross contamination |
| liter) and French brandy VSOP had 180 m g/liter. | | | | with wines that involves the practice of sealing the |
| Subsequently, sites have speculated that the "gluten | | | | barrels with a flour/water paste that is common with |
| might be derived from the caramel coloring" and | | | | European Union barrel manufacturers. Most US based |
| suggests that it is best for coeliacs to "abstain from | | | | manufactures currently use a neutral food grade |
| brown colored liquor" (ref 1) | | | | paraffin to seal the barrels during the construction |
| There is a note of caution that the detection of | | | | process, but there are some manufacturers that |
| gluten in alcoholic drinks is very unreliable as "the | | | | import and use the flour/water based barrels."(Ref 3) |
| gluten proteins could have been broken down to | | | | Reference 3 also mentions that the hard paste part |
| small (but still toxic) peptides and in that case a | | | | of the wheat glue may not be fully removed in the |
| sandwich-type ELISA might produce false negative | | | | cleaning process and that you can mostly trust wines |
| results because in that case you always need to two | | | | that are "almost always" made without a barrel aging |
| epitopes (binding sites for the antiserum) on one | | | | process such as: "Whites - Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc |
| molecule to get a positive reaction." (ref 1) | | | | from New Zealand, Italian Pinot Grigio, |
| The difficulty with general liqueurs is that since this | | | | Bag-In-The-Box wines; and Reds: Bag-In-The-Box |
| has not been recognised as a major problem in | | | | wines." (Ref 3) |
| society, and as testing is difficult and potentially | | | | You will note that many of the wineries listed in the |
| expensive, liquor makers are unlikely to test and label | | | | gluten free pages winery directory are there because |
| their products as gluten free any time soon, even if | | | | their cafes provide gluten free food. And this is often |
| they are gluten free. | | | | a matter of just including gluten free bread in their |
| Your best option appears to be either to avoid liquor | | | | offerings. While rare, but still in existence, are wineries |
| altogether or choose types not based on gluten | | | | that also sell wine labelled as gluten free. You may |
| grains, such as whiskeys. | | | | need to check that these carry the official gluten |
| GLUTEN FREE BEER | | | | free authority symbols. |
| The beer area seems relatively clear cut. In the same | | | | It is suggested that while gluten contamination of |
| study as above "The beer test, which consisted of a | | | | wines in America may be relatively rare that a celiac |
| set of 50 different brands, showed that most brands | | | | should consider asking wine makers if the wine is |
| (35) did contain immunoreactive protein in amounts | | | | gluten free, if it is, then ask if it is certified by a |
| between 1 and 200 mg/liter. Only 15 contained less | | | | gluten free authority. If they don't know if it is gluten |
| than 1 mg/liter. There was a strong correlation | | | | free maybe you should ask what kind of barrels they |
| between the gluten content and whether wheat had | | | | use. The gluten free alcohol story is one of |
| been used as an ingredient!" (ref 1) | | | | ‘better safe than sorry', especially if you have |
| The Technical Officer of The Coeliac Society of | | | | been so good with avoiding gluten in the rest of your |
| Australia also agrees by saying that " the (beer) | | | | diet! |
| brewing process unfortunately does not render | | | | References |
| ‘normal' beer gluten free" (ref 3) | | | | Ref 1 |
| "Beer contains Gluten, either in the grains used within | | | | Ref 2 - December 06 Your Questions. |
