The Lazy Man's GF Beer

Alright, I know the fun and challenge of GF beer is to play with new ingredients, scour the forums for tips on how to malt your own grain, figure out the starch conversion temperatures, go on excursions to Chestnut farms, and sending emails to the manufacturers of every product.

However, there comes a time in a GF brewer's life when you just wish it was a bit easier. You don't have time to malt everything from scratch 1 month out from brew day. You don't want to special order sorghum extract, visit health clubs for amaranth, or stress about how many ppm would your 2nd batch yield if your first batch used a liquid yeast. All you want to do is go to your LHBS, buy some ingredients, make some beer, and then put some magic ingredient in there that would make it safe.

Well, thanks to the marvels of science, there is now a product out there that can let even the laziest of brewers make a batch of gluten free(ish) beer. That product (Brewers Clarex) was originally found in Zymurgy magazine (article), but is now sold via White Labs under the name Clarity Ferm WLN4000, and I recently found it available at my LHBS.

Now just to set the record straight:

1. This enzyme breaks down proteins in the beer, gluten just happens to be one of them.
2. This means you can't just give this beer out to everybody and call it gluten-free, it's not it's 'gluten-reduced'
3. ​
   You must explain to anybody before they try it that the gluten is reduced to very-low levels in barley-based beers. But it is not 100% GF.
4. Very little science has been done yet on gluten-reducers, so enter at your own risk.

Gluten-Intollerant people typically fall into 4 camps:

1. Gluten Allergic
2. Celiac
3. Gluten Sensitive
4. Gluten Pariticipant (wags and bahs)

If you fall into group 1 or 2 and are pretty sensitive, then do NOT toy around with your health. If you fall into group 3 & 4 or are not super sensitive and are in group 1 or 2, then this might be an option for you. But know your risks before giving it a go.

Since my wife fits into Group 2, and is sensitive, but not terribly so, we're going to try this with my future non-GF beers. I'm also going to get some gluten-testing kits to make sure it's at least below European-accepted threshhold of 20ppm before even letting her try a sip. Even if it works though and never causes an issue, I'll still be making 'real' GF beers because I like the challenge, this community, and the knowledge that I'm doing it right.

Once again remember, that there is still a LOT of actual science that needs to be done in this field to truly figure out what is safe and isn't. Unfortunately a lot of the information out there is hear-say and annecdotal. So as a final word, I would encourage you to support research for celiac and gluten-intolerance in general so that we can know what exactly is really happening and with exactly which proteins (e.g. wheat gluten appears to be much more problematic than barley gluten) and parts of the proteins are the culprits of our woes.

*Note there is actually a beer in Germany sold as being Gluten-Free that uses barley and then Brewers Clarex to get the gluten out. I can't find it now, but will post a link when I do.

Nice write-up man!

I think I'll still make the completely GF beers, that's how I started anyways, but maybe I'll try a liquid yeast and throw that in there.

EDIT: I wonder how many commercial breweries might catch on and start adding this stuff to call one of their beers "Gluten Free"

Hadn't thought of it as a way to use liquid yeast safely, but that sounds like a pretty good idea.

Plus this stuff is an excellent clarifier and should make for some clean non-hazy beer too.

Very interesting.

Where do you find these 'gluten-testing kits'? It would be very interesting to get a PPM on one of these beers.

http://api.ning.com/files/ENF-8DjKh...eurXAnNOU5d*ufjMy5Fs*HVBnM/celiac_disease.pdf

Great reading on the subject. Most interesting is that barley based beers already come up as gluten free in the most common gluten testing method.

dkershner said:

Very interesting.

Where do you find these 'gluten-testing kits'? It would be very interesting to get a PPM on one of these beers.

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My mother-in-law has some cause she runs a GF bakery side business, so I'm going to buy a few off of her.

But you can find them online by just searching for "gluten test kit"
EZ Gluten is probably the brand I would get. Not cheap, but better than poisoning your own wife.

aggieotis said:

My mother-in-law has some cause she runs a GF bakery side business, so I'm going to buy a few off of her.

But you can find them online by just searching for "gluten test kit"
EZ Gluten is probably the brand I would get. Not cheap, but better than poisoning your own wife.

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I would still worry somewhat about what that article talked about. That normal glutenous beer comes up as gluten free under some methods.

Also from the article:
"In addition, brewers might wish to engage with the cereal science and medical communities as they seek to identify more exactly the offending molecules in wheat, barley and rye and develop ways to measure them. This is probably necessary if the definition of “gluten free” is to be other than “made without wheat, barley or rye.”"

Right now we're making guesses on a lot of this stuff, but the sad fact is, not enough research has been done to know what really causes the problems and how to fix them. I wish Celiac could get just a fraction of a percent of the funding that goes into cancer research.

Personally, my opinion is that while a zero-tolerance policy on any presence of gluten is the safest, that it's overly harsh, and that the poison is in the dose, so if you keep the dose low enough your body should be able to recover without issue (per the article <10mg per day). Then again, that's opinion and not science, which is about all any of us can have at this point. On the issue I tend to fall more in line with the European definition of gluten-free (<20ppm is ok) as they seem to have a much healthier response than that of the typical totalitarian US response (even undetectable things can harm you).

Overall great article and I hope that eventually we'll know more. In the meantime I'll stay away from any wheat-based beers as the gluten from wheat appears to be many times more harmful than barley gluten. So no using the Clarity Ferm on Hefeweizens, Wits, or American Wheat Ales.

Those gluten free testing kits aren't very reliable.

Brewers Clarex will definitely help with clarifying your beers. That was its original intent...to clarify barley beers. The fact that it "digested" proteins resulted in the convenient collateral effect of reducing the gluten present in beer as well.

Most gluten test kits available to consumers like us will NOT accurately measure the gluten content in beer. Tests such as EZ Gluten are not designed to look for barley-based hordeins in alcoholic liquids made from fermented cereal grains (aka beer).

There are many gluten-free beers in Europe made from barley, with the gluten removed through a variety of processes. You can find them in Germany, Finland, England, and Spain, just to name a few places.

Cheers, Pete

peterbronski said:

Most gluten test kits available to consumers like us will NOT accurately measure the gluten content in beer. Tests such as EZ Gluten are not designed to look for barley-based hordeins in alcoholic liquids made from fermented cereal grains (aka beer).

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Thanks for the tip about the tests not doing well with Barley. From what I understand though, Barley-based hordeins are not as caustic as Wheat-based ones, so the test might still yield real-world results. If only we could make some celiac mice this would be a lot easier to figure out.

peterbronski said:

There are many gluten-free beers in Europe made from barley, with the gluten removed through a variety of processes. You can find them in Germany, Finland, England, and Spain, just to name a few places.

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Brewers Clarex is one of the methods chosen by a couple of these brands of beer for eliminating gluten proteins. Since it is now available to the public via White Labs, I chose to share the info for those interested.

It depends how you define "caustic." Celiac studies published in peer-reviewed medical journals have shown that barley hordeins do cause a Celiac response, just as wheat gliadins/glutenins do. However, it is also true that barley hordeins are broken down much more during the brewing process than wheat gluten. One study I read in a brewing science journal found the level of gluten in wheat beers to be roughly 1,000 times greater than in barley beers. I still think it's a slippery slope to use the wrong gluten test for checking ppm levels in beer. For someone who is truly sensitive, you're not going to get an accurate measurement, and would basically be playing gluten roulette. I've seen enough research to strongly suggest that certain barley beers can safely be made gluten-free, but I'm waiting for scientists to develop the appropriate test to definitively confirm it (they're getting close). While I'm tempted to do a little "sampling" with what I'd consider to be the "safest" beers, I'm willing to gamble with my own health, since I'm pretty sensitive to gluten.

And yes, it's definitely newsworthy to share that Clarex is now available via White Labs. Good stuff!

this is really exciting, thanks for the link. hopefully it works out, cant wait for the results

oh, and so ive been looking up gluten free/low gluten stuff tonight, does anyone have a link of gluten levels in certain beer types, and what levels are typically enough to cause a reaction in various peoples sensitivity levels

Hi Fred... Gluten levels in different beers can vary widely depending on a number of factors: the particular types of barley used, is it a wheat beer (y or n?), the ratio of barley to gluten-free adjuncts like rice or corn, the use of Brewers Clarex or other clarifying agents to remove protein (including prolonged cold storage to precipitate the gluten out), etc. In general, from least to most gluten, the beers go: alcohol-free, lagers, stouts, wheat beers. Bud Light and Coors Light, for better or worse, are good examples of barley beers that are quite possibly naturally gluten-free (below 20ppm threshold). Curiously, I've even read a study that compared 7 beers (3 lagers and 4 ales, as I recall), including 1 gluten-free beer. Only one beer tested as gluten-free...and it wasn't the GF brew! It was a barley beer! Researchers attributed the result to gluten cross-contamination of the GF beer, but it also showed the potential for certain barley beers to be naturally GF.

Cheers, Pete

aggieotis said:

1. This enzyme breaks down proteins in the beer, gluten just happens to be one of them.

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Be warned that the enzyme also appears to break down the proteins that bring body and mouth feel to the party. I recently used Clarity-Ferm in an Oatmeal Stout with > 10% oats in the mash. . . My celiac friend wanted to "go big or go home", as he put it. After fermenting and carbing, it had the body of a glass of watered-down Natty-Light. And you can forget about any head retention. I added 12 oz malto and to help with both. But it is still pretty thin. Though on the bright side, it does seem to work. My buddy can drink it without spending the next day on the can. I will probably only use it in lighter styled beers from here on out.

Sounds kinda useless to add Clarity-Ferm if it kills the body of the beer, just saying it sounds more like a step backwards to me.

Clayton, what's horrible is the lack of awareness about gluten-related conditions in many parts of the U.S., and the millions of Americans with undiagnosed Celiac Disease. They face serious health consequences. Those of us on this forum - whether for Celiac Disease, gluten intolerance, whatever - know that we have to be gluten-free, and as a result, we live happy, healthy lives. Which includes brewing and drinking tasty GF beer. Also, for what it's worth, I too enjoy baking, and make stellar versions of breads, waffles, cakes, cookies, etc. Even without gluten.

Cheers, Pete

peterbronski said:

Clayton, what's horrible is the lack of awareness about gluten-related conditions in many parts of the U.S., and the millions of Americans with undiagnosed Celiac Disease. They face serious health consequences. Those of us on this forum - whether for Celiac Disease, gluten intolerance, whatever - know that we have to be gluten-free, and as a result, we live happy, healthy lives. Which includes brewing and drinking tasty GF beer. Also, for what it's worth, I too enjoy baking, and make stellar versions of breads, waffles, cakes, cookies, etc. Even without gluten.

Cheers, Pete

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Well said sir.

While I have no intolerance issues with gluten myself, my girlfriend IS celiac so this weighs heavily with me. I haven't found it so hard to make the food I am used to eating gluten free and in some cases I think it is better and much healthier but I do miss the ease of going to a bar and picking a random beer- but hey, that's why I homebrew now.

Keep up the good work fellas!

Lcasanova said:

Well said sir.

While I have no intolerance issues with gluten myself, my girlfriend IS celiac so this weighs heavily with me. I haven't found it so hard to make the food I am used to eating gluten free and in some cases I think it is better and much healthier but I do miss the ease of going to a bar and picking a random beer- but hey, that's why I homebrew now.

Keep up the good work fellas!

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Yeah, it is really quite easy. I find the only food I miss and is somewhat difficult to make is pizza, and even then I have a recipe in development that turned out pretty well.

I grew up with a Mom and Sister who had celiacs, and then last year moved in with my GF who has celiacs. I had never really been a fan of baked goods or desserts in general, I use beer in its place. Everything else is fairly easily replaceable. Except for beer, I am gluten free for the most part by choice, and I barely notice.

Clayton said:

what a horrable disease, if i had that i would not want to pass it on.

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Actually, if you're white, there's a good chance that you're already a carrier for gluten intolerance and don't even know it.

Also, as a rule of thumb: Don't criticize people for the way they were born, it's not nice.

You can tease people being fat. For acting stupid. For living in Texas. For driving a Yugo. For the clothes they wear. For liking Nati Light. For their accent. For their political/religious views. Etc. But when it comes to something that a person neither wants nor has a choice in getting it's not nice to tease or exclaim how you're glad you're not like them.

aggieotis said:

Actually, if you're white, there's a good chance that you're already a carrier for gluten intolerance and don't even know it.

Also, as a rule of thumb: Don't criticize people for the way they were born, it's not nice.

You can tease people being fat. For acting stupid. For living in Texas. For driving a Yugo. For the clothes they wear. For liking Nati Light. For their accent. For their political/religious views. Etc. But when it comes to something that a person neither wants nor has a choice in getting it's not nice to tease or exclaim how you're glad you're not like them.

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Ha! You live in Texas. You probably have a funny accent.

Oh, and I just wanted to add that of all hobbies, this is probably the one best suited to a celiac diseased person. I mean, we already take on the challenge of doing something that is readily available in stores, why not add even more to that challenge and expand it to food as well?

And hey, what are you doing in this forum anyway?

Also, for the guys talking about loss of body in beer due to clarex, we GF brewers are used to that, and it isn't that hard to overcome. Read around this forum and you will find various ways, most commonly Maltodextrin.

Re: loss of body. In my opinion, watery Clarity-ferm (clarex) beer is still better than the commercial sorghum beers or worse yet, no beer at all. I am not celiac. So, I am able to enjoy a nice thick stout and hence, I obviously noticed when the clarex version was lacking body. OTOH, my buddy, who is a celiac, took one sip and nearly slipped into a pleasure coma. It was the first barley beer he had tasted in over two years. The watery texture didn't bother him a bit. I will probably add a hefty dose of malto in the next batch to make it enjoyable for both of us.

mrkstel said:

Re: loss of body. In my opinion, watery Clarity-ferm (clarex) beer is still better than the commercial sorghum beers or worse yet, no beer at all. I am not celiac. So, I am able to enjoy a nice thick stout and hence, I obviously noticed when the clarex version was lacking body. OTOH, my buddy, who is a celiac, took one sip and nearly slipped into a pleasure coma. It was the first barley beer he had tasted in over two years. The watery texture didn't bother him a bit. I will probably add a hefty dose of malto in the next batch to make it enjoyable for both of us.

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You could probably create a big fat stout out of sorghum and make it taste fairly similar. It is the delicate and malty side of the equation we struggle at. You can add some burnt grain or coffee and chocolate to achieve porter and stout flavors fairly realistically.

Although, I will admit there is always something not quite right about GF beers, it sounds like Clarex is a great step, but not the end step. My lady doesn't like to take chances, and Clarex is still taking a chance with your immune/digestive system. Hopefully someone will prove that statement wrong somehow.

dkershner said:

Yeah, it is really quite easy. I find the only food I miss and is somewhat difficult to make is pizza, and even then I have a recipe in development that turned out pretty well.

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I make awesome gf pizzas (pan, thin crust and deep dish). I'm not sure what flours you are using, but you have to use a mixture or it doesn't taste right. When I first started dating my girlfriend, who is on the gf diet, she made some pizza using only rice flour and despite what I told her at the time... It wasn't good.

I'm trying to use the same idea for gf beer and use multiple grains.

BBBF said:

I make awesome gf pizzas (pan, thin crust and deep dish). I'm not sure what flours you are using, but you have to use a mixture or it doesn't taste right. When I first started dating my girlfriend, who is on the gf diet, she made some pizza using only rice flour and despite what I told her at the time... It wasn't good.

I'm trying to use the same idea for gf beer and use multiple grains.

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I use a mix of Brown Rice Flour and Tapioca flour. The pizza actually came out very good, the dough is just a pain to work with. Plus, I like to put so many toppings on my pizzas that the crust really takes a backseat.

I made a thin crust Sunday that was 1 C tapioca, 1/2 C raji (indian millet), 1/2 C white corn and 1/2 C of rice. Working the dough is the hardest part. You can't roll it. I just coat the pan with corn meal, put a pile of dough in the middle, sprinkle some more rice flour on top and just push it down until it covers the pan.

BBBF said:

I made a thin crust Sunday that was 1 C tapioca, 1/2 C raji (indian millet), 1/2 C white corn and 1/2 C of rice. Working the dough is the hardest part. You can't roll it. I just coat the pan with corn meal, put a pile of dough in the middle, sprinkle some more rice flour on top and just push it down until it covers the pan.

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Yeah, exactly. I used to work at a pizza place and what took 15 seconds there takes me 5 minutes.

I think I just need to get over it. It was my first GF pizza after all.

I am a big fan of bob's redmill pizza crust. Tried that one yet?

Lcasanova said:

I am a big fan of bob's redmill pizza crust. Tried that one yet?

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I try not to use Bob's stuff for this reason:

**Manufactured in a facility that also uses tree nuts and soy**

Nuts are the allergy that I bring to the dinner table...great huh?

dkershner said:

I try not to use Bob's stuff for this reason:

**Manufactured in a facility that also uses tree nuts and soy**

Nuts are the allergy that I bring to the dinner table...great huh?

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My gf brings that one to the table too, but she'll chance it. They put that warning on everything.

BBBF said:

My gf brings that one to the table too, but she'll chance it. They put that warning on everything.

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I am not all that worried about it, but if I can make something similar or better for cheaper...

Although, I think the brown rice flour is from Bob's anyway.

$4 per pizza just seems really expensive for crust too. I haven't figured out what it is from raw ingredients, but I can't imagine it is that bad. Am I just used to make $.20 glutenous pizza crusts?

Yeah, it is. Are there any african or indian stores near you? I've found that you can get gf flours much cheaper than BRM. Although, you might have the shared equipment warnings.

I just checked and only have indian restaurants. It's the west coast, you basically have Mexican stores and that's about it. I wonder if there is an online source for your other flours though. I never really searched.

My wife found an awesome pizza crust mix made by Really Great Food Company .... half the family is *not* GF but we *all* enjoy the pizza!


http://www.reallygreatfood.com/

(reminds himself not to take for granted the fact that he can get GF pizza from 5 different places in his town of 75K)

"The Lazy Man's GF Beer"

I thought this was a thread about making something your "Girl Friend" would drink.

OOPS...

My wife has a gluten free blog and she has posted our pizza crust recipe. We make the very best pizza I have EVER had (sautéed zucchini, onions, and garlic in a white sauce with 3 cheese topping), and the pizza crust is fantastic.

http://lilovesdavid.blogspot.com/

ChristianAlpha-RuBrew said:

"The Lazy Man's GF Beer"

I thought this was a thread about making something your "Girl Friend" would drink.

OOPS...

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For most of us in this thread...it is.

dkershner said:

christianalpha-rubrew said:

"the lazy man's gf beer"

i thought this was a thread about making something your "girl friend" would drink.

Oops...

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for most of us in this thread...it is.

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That...makes sense. With all due respect to all to you poor people who cant drink real beer. The only reason I would make a gluten free fermented beverage is in hopes of getting my wife drunk.