GLUTEN-CONTENT IN BEER - WHAT IS THAT?!
Beer brewed according to the German Purity Law is made from hops, malt, yeast and water. The malt, in turn, can be made from a variety of grains (barley, wheat, rye) and since most grains contain gluten, beer is almost always off-limits to those with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity (NCGS).
This is because for someone who suffers from a sensitivity or intolerance to gluten, just drinking a glass of beer can be an attack on their health.
What most of you don't know, however, is that the gluten content in beer can vary greatly depending on the type of beer. However, beer lovers know that there are countless different types of beer on the market. Depending on the brewing method and selected grains, the different types of beer can be distinguished and their taste and appearance is correspondingly different. But not only the sensory properties, but also how much gluten the so popular barley juice contains, varies sometimes quite considerably depending on the type of beer and brewing method.
- Are you one of the people who suffer from celiac disease or gluten sensitivity (NCGS)? Then you have to be very careful with all foods that contain grains. Liquid food, such as beer, is no exception!
- For celiac disease sufferers, however, this will not matter, because even commercially available beer contains too much gluten for you.
- In the case of gluten sensitivity (NCGS), on the other hand, the different gluten content of beer types can be very decisive.
BEER FOR PEOPLE WITH CELIAC DISEASE
The brewers have taken on the problem and now also offer gluten-free beer. Unfortunately, the special beer without gluten is often significantly more expensive than conventional beer and taste is a matter of debate. The prices for gluten-free beer vary here, but you can expect to pay around four euros per liter.
But beware: a beer labeled "gluten-free" (crossed-out ear of corn) may still contain 20 mg of gluten per kg (approx. 1 liter) according to EU food law. Thus, one runs the risk that even "a half" (0.5 liters of beer) could be enough to reach the guideline value of 10 mg of gluten per day.
Interestingly, some "gluten-free" beers on the market are produced with the help of AN-PEP enzymes or the gluten is reduced in the brewing process with the help of the enzyme to such an extent that this beer can be marketed as gluten-free.1 We use the same enzyme AN-PEP enzyme in GluteoStop.
GLUTEN IN BEER - THAT'S HOW MUCH THE VALUES² VARY HERE
How much gluten is in a beer depends largely on the type of grain used and the brewing process. The bad news right at the start: wheat beer (wheat beer), which is very popular not only in Bavaria, unfortunately has the highest gluten content. This is because one liter of wheat beer contains around 250 milligrams of gluten, making it inadvisable even for beer lovers who are gluten-sensitive. However, there are beers with a gluten content many times lower than that of wheat beer, which means that gluten-sensitive beer lovers can tolerate a glass or two.
Pilsner lager (Pilsener Urtyp) contains by far the lowest gluten content, with only about 1.2 milligrams of gluten per liter. This should be tolerated by some gluten-sensitive individuals in small amounts. To be on the safe side, you should still take the daily dose of GluteoStop with it.
The light full beer follows with about 2.7 milligrams of gluten per liter.
A dark full-bodied beer, on the other hand, has almost twice the gluten content of the light full-bodied beer, at around 4.6 milligrams per liter.
If you think that a non-alcoholic beer or malt beer (e.g. Vitamalz) is gluten-free, you are very much mistaken. In fact, non-alcoholic beers or malt beers contain more gluten than Pilsner beer, with approximately 3.2 and 3.3 milligrams of gluten per liter, respectively. Alcohol-free beer is also not an alternative for beer lovers who suffer from celiac disease, but they should not have to do without their beer. As described above, there are now some suppliers whose beer is marked with the crossed-out ear of corn. Please note - the seal only confirms that the beer has less than 20 mg of gluten per kilogram, i.e. approx. 1 liter.
Therefore, we recommend that gluten-sensitive individuals take GluteoStop® before drinking gluten-free or low-gluten beer to reduce exposure to residual gluten.
SOURCE:
1 Michiel Akeroyd, Sylvie van Zandycke, Joost den Hartog, Jozé Mutsaers, Luppo Edens, Marco van den Berg & Chantal Christis (2016) AN-PEP, Proline-Specific Endopeptidase, Degrades All Known Immunostimulatory Gluten Peptides in Beer Made from Barley Malt, Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists, 74:2, 91-99, DOI: 10.1094/ASBCJ-2016-2300-01
2G. Andersen / H. Köhler in collaboration with M. Rubach / W. Schaecke (2015): Annual Report of the German Research Institute 2014, Freising, p. 136 - p. 139.