Gluten free beer in Canada has historically been a problematic idea for one very important reason: It’s literally impossible.
To be “gluten free,” according to Health Canada and the Canadian Celiac Association, a product must have no deliberately added ingredients that contain any gluten proteins from barley, oats, rye, triticale, or wheat, including kamut and spelt and any gluten levels in the product from accidental gluten contamination must be less than 20 parts per million (ppm).
To be “beer,” according to Canada’s Food and Drug Laws, something has to be “the product of the alcoholic fermentation by yeast of an infusion of barley or wheat malt and hops or hop extract in potable water and shall be brewed in such a manner as to possess the aroma, taste and character commonly attributed to beer.”
So if a product is truly gluten free, it isn’t actually beer and, if a product is truly beer, it can’t be gluten free. So that’s the final word on gluten free beer.
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OK then. Let’s talk a little more about gluten-free beer. Continue reading “Let’s talk about gluten free beer”
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