Most people don’t believe it when we tell them ALL of our beers are gluten reduced. Believe it, Buddy. It’s true.
We began by adding an enzyme called Clarity Ferm (produced by White Labs) to our Alibi West Coast IPA in late fall 2018. As promised, the enzyme nearly eliminated gluten in our finished beers with no impact on flavor, aroma or mouthfeel. So we began adding it to all of our beers in spring 2019. Since then, every beer coming out of our brewery is not only delicious, but also gluten-reduced!
How does it work?
We add Clarity Ferm enzyme in liquid form along with yeast at the beginning of fermentation. The enzyme is a prolyl endopeptidase and it is able to hydrolyze (i.e. break down) the proteins gliadin and hordein (gluten), which are implicated as the cause of Celiac’s disease. It also helps break down the haze-active polypeptides that create chill haze. Its reaction is very specific, so no other beer parameters (i.e. flavor, aroma) are affected. It also gives our beer improved shelf stability and reliably reduces gluten content to below 20 ppm.
Is your beer “gluten-free”?
20 ppm is the international threshold for beer to be considered gluten-free. We do periodic testing of gluten content at an off-site lab but do not test every batch so while we cannot declare that our beer is gluten-free, we can proudly say that every one of our beers are gluten-reduced. If you have Celiac’s Disease we do not recommend consuming our beer. However, many people who are gluten sensitive regularly enjoy our beer with no negative side effects.
Is Clarity Ferm a GMO (genetically-modified organism)?
No. It is indeed enhanced, but since it is enhanced with its own DNA (rather than the DNA of another organism), it does not meet the definition of GMOs.
Cheers to good beer and great digestion!