Gluten-free beer? Really??

Whether you have Celiac disease, a gluten allergy, or just think that avoiding gluten is the magic key to a Narniesque state where weight magically disappears – the ‘gluten-free’ world is here, and it is here to stay. Instead of going all scientific on you, I’ll just give you this two sentence primer:
Gluten is a mixture of proteins found in wheat and related grains, including barley, rye, oat, and all their species and hybrids. Lots of those same items can be used to make beer.  So, you ask me, how can we have gluten-free beer? I’m glad you asked.

It used to be that gluten-free beer fell into one of three categories: awful, horrific and Castor oil. One friend said that the original GF beers reminded her of Robin Williams drinking formaldehyde beer in Good Morning, Vietnam. But, thanks to modern times, modern technology, ingenuity, and trial & error, massive strides have been made here. NOW, gluten-free beer can fall into one of three categories:

• Gluten-Free. Beer that is brewed without using ingredients that contain gluten. Brewers have learned that they can brew using millet, rice, sorghum, buckwheat or corn. None of these ingredients contain gluten and can therefore be used to create gluten-free products.
• Gluten-Removed. Beer that is brewed normally and then goes through a process to remove all gluten. Some traditional brewers will brew beer using the standard barley, but then denature the gluten using an enzyme. The resulting product is indeed gluten-free. However, some beer enthusiasts and gluten-free purists will tell you that this isn’t the real deal.
• Minimal Gluten. Beer that we all know and love already, but it has a small enough gluten content that it can still ‘qualify’ as gluten-free.  In August 2013, the US FDA approved gluten-free labeling standards. if a food or beverage has less than 20 PPM (parts per million) of gluten, it can technically be called gluten-free. As an example, Corona has less than 20ppm. NOTE: Corona does not claim to be a gluten-free product, even though they could. PLEASE be careful with these products – celiacs have reported that these low-gluten products can still cause problems.