Low Gluten in Beer

This is a very much requested test. Many people asked for this already. During one of my last trips I grabbed a Tiger can and took it home to test it on gluten. Taste is quite OK. Nothing special, probably best enjoyed in Asia when the weather is hot and the beer cold.

Beer: Tiger
Producer: Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd
Originating country: Singapore
Brewing location: European Union
Bottle size: 330 ml
Alcohol by volume: 5.0%
Ingredients: water, malted barley, maize grits, hop extract
Miscellaneous: –

Test Kit: GlutenTox Home Kit

I tested with a threshold of 5 ppm. The limit of detection depends on the number of drops taken from the extraction solution, please find some more information here.

Test result: There is no indication of the presence of gluten above 5 ppm. According to the instructions there should appear a clearly visible red test line on the right of the test area ( T ) to indicate the presence of gluten. The blue line on the left test area ( C ) is a control line and indicates that the extract/sample is suitable, the test has been performed correctly and all reagents are active. Please don’t take any of my test results as a medical advice – see my facts page.

This is the first test from Martin. Erzquell is a local Pilsner from Bielstein – a small town east of Cologne.

Beer: Erzquell Pils
Producer: Erzquell Brauerei Bielstein 
Originating country: Germany
Brewing location: Germany
Bottle size: 0.5 l
Alcohol by volume: 4.8%
Ingredients: water, malt, hops, hops extract
Miscellaneous: Fun fact on the back label: When the word ‘Prost’ appears which simply means Cheers the beer has the optimal drinking temperature. See the second pic below.

Test Kit: Imutest Gluten-in-Food Kit

Test result: The test result is negative. According to the instructions there should appear a clearly visible pink test spot on the left of the test area ( T ) to indicate the presence of gluten. The pink spot on the right test area ( C ) is a control spot and indicates that the extract/sample is suitable, the test has been performed correctly and all reagents are active. Even though the detection limit in this kit is very low (1-2 ppm) and the is negative please note this is not a medical advice – please see also my facts page.

Another famous American beer and something many visitors probably waited for a long time is Samual Adams crafted Boston Lager. Well, what’s the definition of craft beer? In my eyes it’s a beer produced by an independent small brewery selling it almost only locally, preferebly run as a family business and the boss checks the quality daily with passion and dedication. Boston Lager is to me more a mass production beer produced by a S&P listed company with almost 1 Billion $ revenue. Here is a nice little article about Sam Adams. Maybe I am wrong so I would be happy to see comments with your opinion

But what about the gluten concentration in Boston Lager? Here is the test result:

Beer: Samuel Adams Boston Lager
Producer: Boston Beer Company
Originating country: USA
Brewing location: USA
Bottle size: 12 oz = 0.355 l
Alcohol by volume: 5.0%
Ingredients: water, malt, hops, and yeast (internet research as ingredients are not listed on the can)
Miscellaneous: –

Test Kit: Imutest Gluten-in-Food Kit

Test result: The test result is negative. According to the instructions there should appear a clearly visible pink test spot on the left of the test area ( T ) to indicate the presence of gluten. The pink spot on the right test area ( C ) is a control spot and indicates that the extract/sample is suitable, the test has been performed correctly and all reagents are active. Even though the detection limit in this kit is very low (1-2 ppm) and the test is negative please note this is not a medical advice – please see also my facts page.

This is the first test from Barrett.

I completed by first beer test using GlutenTox Home on a beer I was hoping to enjoy called House Lager from a brewery called Jack’s Abbey here in New England, USA.

Beer: Jack’s Abby House Lager
Style: Pale Lager
Producer:Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers
Originating country: USA
Brewing location: Framingham, Massachussetts, USA
Format Tested: 16 ox Can purchased in Boston, MA
Alcohol by volume: 5.2%
Ingredients: –
Miscellaneous: Unfiltered, unpasteurized, ingredients not listed on can

Test Kit: GlutenTox Home Kit

Barrett tested with a threshold of 20 ppm. The limit of detection depends on the number of drops taken from the extraction solution, please find some more information here.

Test result: A red line appears on the right of the test stick ( T ). The red line indicates the presence of gluten equal to or above 20 ppm. The blue line on the left test area ( C ) is a control line and indicates that the extract/sample is suitable, the test has been performed correctly and all reagents are active. Even though this test is positive please note it is not a medical advice – see my facts page.

Another test from Joe:

Beer: Carta Blanca
Producer: Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma
Originating country: Mexico
Brewing location: Mexico
Bottle size: 12 Oz. = approx. 330 ml
Alcohol by volume: 4.5%
Ingredients: –
Miscellaneous: Thanks for test, Joe!

Test Kit: GlutenTox Home Kit

Joe tested with a threshold of 20 ppm. The limit of detection depends on the number of drops taken from the extraction solution, please find some more information here.

Test result: There is no indication of the presence of gluten above 20 ppm. According to the instructions there should appear a clearly visible red test line on the right of the test area ( T ) to indicate the presence of gluten. The blue line on the left test area ( C ) is a control line and indicates that the extract/sample is suitable, the test has been performed correctly and all reagents are active. Even though this test is negative please note it is not a medical advice – see my facts page.

I owed you the test result from the Chinese beer poll back in December last year. I haven’t posted the result as we had other test results with higher priority – like the tests from Adam and Joe M. And I have to apologise as I wasn’t able to get the winning beer (Yanjing) and not even the runner-up (Zhujiang). Finally I found Snow (3rd in the poll) in a small shop in Shanghai. If you don’t know where to go in Shanghai you are lost. Mainly Western beer brands are available beside the most famous Tsingtao which I already tested in 2014.

And I wanted to explore the city and not only look for beer. Actually I found a good shop with a lot of beers but I wasn’t able to buy them as the only accepted way to pay was Alipay. China really lives the digitalisation. Almost everything can be paid with mobile phones using WeChat for instance. Anyway, I tested Snow then. A very light, American lager style beer with low alcohol and not much taste.

Beer: Snow / 雪花啤酒
Producer: China Resources Snow Breweries Ltd.
Originating country: China
Brewing location: China
Bottle size: 500 ml
Alcohol by volume: 3.3%
Ingredients: Water, Malt Extract (9%), Starch, Corn, Hop Extract, Yeast according to internet research
Miscellaneous: –

Test Kit: Imutest Gluten-in-Food Kit

Test result: The test result is negative. According to the instructions there should appear a clearly visible pink test spot on the left of the test area ( T ) to indicate the presence of gluten. The pink spot on the right test area ( C ) is a control spot and indicates that the extract/sample is suitable, the test has been performed correctly and all reagents are active. Even though the detection limit in this kit is very low (1-2 ppm) and the test is negative please note this is not a medical advice – please see also my facts page.

Further test provided by Adam.

It’s a Dutch beer named Hollandia. One of the cheapest beers that can be bought over here. It’s a quite acceptable flavoured beer. In fact better than a lot of other beers that are more expensive.

Beer: Hollandia Premium
Producer: Swinkels Family Brewers (formerly Bavaria Brouwerij)
Originating country: Netherlands
Brewing location: Netherlands
Bottle size: 330 ml
Alcohol by volume: 4.7%
Ingredients: water, barley malt, maltose, hop extract
Miscellaneous: –

Test Kit: GlutenTox Home Kit

Adam tested with a threshold of 20 ppm. The limit of detection depends on the number of drops taken from the extraction solution, please find some more information here.

Test result: There is no indication of the presence of gluten above 20 ppm. According to the instructions there should appear a clearly visible red test line on the right of the test area ( T ) to indicate the presence of gluten. The blue line on the left test area ( C ) is a control line and indicates that the extract/sample is suitable, the test has been performed correctly and all reagents are active. Even though this test is negative please note it is not a medical advice – see my facts page.