For you to understand what gluten-free beer is, you need to know that since the introduction of beer, the beverage has been brewed from grains like barley, wheat and rye. These popular beer grains contain gluten, which is a protein that helps foods maintain their shape. Gluten is what makes your dough elastic.
Around 7% of the world population is gluten sensitive or suffers from genetic disorders like Celiac disease. This percentage of people can’t consume gluten in any form, ranging from food staples like bread and pasta to the extremely popular beer.
As you know, beer is one of the most popular beverages in the world, so popular that it ranks third after water and tea. Due to the rising percentage of gluten-allergic population, brewers are introducing gluten-free beer options to cater to this section of consumers in the market.
Gluten-free beers are brewed from grains like millet, buckwheat, rice, and corn. Though these beers taste different than conventional beers, they are a good substitute of gluten beers and better tasting than sorghum beers. Sorghum, which is another gluten-free grain that was commonly used to brew gluten-free beers in the earlier times, was replaced with other gluten-free grains due to its sour flavour profile.
Most conventional beers have a gluten content of over 63 ppm (parts per million) while most gluten-sensitive people are restricted from consuming over 20 ppm. These days, many brewers are producing gluten-removed and gluten-reduced beers that are brewed from gluten-containing grains like wheat, barley and rye. The brewers claim to have processed the beer to reduce its gluten content but this hasn’t been scientifically proven till date.
Medical practitioners recommend gluten-sensitive people to avoid gluten-removed and gluten-reduced beverages as it holds a possibility to cause an immune response in their bodies.
To enjoy a beer with your buddies, make sure you read the labels of your gluten-free beers to confirm the beverage’s gluten content. To be extra sure, buy beers that are brewed at gluten-free breweries.
Some globally-popular gluten-free beers you can try are Redbridge Lager (US), G-Free (UK) and Massager Millet Lager (Canada).
