Same equipment for gluten free?

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brewshki

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Hi all,

I am brewing some beer and cider for a wedding in a few months and had a few questions about GF. I have heard of clarity ferm and have a batch that my gluten intolerant girlfriend is going to try soon. Her reaction is very mild and she regularly eats bread but only if she wants to otherwise will avoid as it does cause some stomach issues. The groom's dad is celiac however and I am not will to use clarity ferm and say it is gluten free or make a gluten free beer. Our solution was going to be making a cider. He likes it well enough and it is obviously gluten free. One of our friends asked the question about the equipment used to make the cider. Can I use my buckets, tubing, draft lines, and kegs that I have used to make beer to make cider and not have any issues? I am assuming the keg would be fine as it is stainless steel. I know that a lot of food have to say if they have been prepared on the same equipment, but I do not know it that is just to let people know or is backed up with real science and there is that much cross contamination. Luckily, I have bought a few new kegs that have never had beer in them, so if there is an issue, I can just reserve those for cider. It isn't a big issue to buy more fermenters and tubing because it is so cheap. Does gluten hang around on normal equipment or is this just something not to worry about? If anyone has any sources or anything I would be very appreciative. I will be doing my own research as well, but it seemed silly not to tap into this knowledge base.
 
to answer your question though, yes you will be fine, if the guy doesn't die walking near the baking section in the grocery store, im sure he gets more gluten contact there than will transfer from clean equipment.
 
So I make a gluten - reduced Brown Ale for my father who is not celiac but does get super irritated from gluten. I use all the same equipment that I use for everything else. As long as you clean and sanitize the equipment.....gluten does not hang around on the surfaces. Restaurants have to say they are using them because there are super sensitive people to gluten and in the day and age of lawsuits, they must protect themselves.
 
I've mostly read that you should replace all tubing and plastic buckets. Kettles and carboys (even plastic), kegs etc are cleanable. Disassemble your tap and clean it and run BLC through the lines (or replace them). Disassemble the drain valve on kettle to clean as well if you can. If they are celiac skip clarity ferm and use only GF ingredients to be safe, too much unknown about how it may affect people.
 
For what it's worth, my wife is celiac and very senitive. I use the same fermenters, auto-siphon, kegs, etc. She hasn't noticed any issues.

I keep a dedicated GF tap, just doesn't mistakenly pour the wrong beer, but otherwise I share equipment without a problem.
 
Gluten isn't going to be as difficult to get rid of as bacteria and the like. I'd venture to guess that anyone following basic cleaning and sanitizing processes in their brewery will be effectively ridding their equipment of glutenous residue. Pinch points of course would be items that don't get cleaned/sanitized regularly like grain mills or anything that comes in contact with the raw grains prior to the mash. Those items would likely need special attention to clean and render safe.
 
I think I am going to be okay. Luckily the only advertised gluten free option will be the cider so a good cleaning of my fermenting equipment should be okay. It'll truly be trace amounts.
 
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