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Brewers offer gluten-free beer
For millions of people, gluten is a dangerous substance. Found in
foods made with wheat, a disorder known as celiac disease makes gluten
unpalatable and causes trouble from within.
And for beer lovers with the disease it makes their favorite
brews dangerous substances. Two Missouri brewers wouldn't take no for an
answer, however, and are now selling a gluten-free beer.
"The whole purpose was to research and produce a gluten-free
beer. A real beer, not one of these substitutes," said Kevin Seplowitz,
co-founder of Bard's Tale Beer.
Celiac disease is a hereditary condition that affects one in
just over 100 people. For Seplowitz, the condition appeared when he was
nearing 30. Suddenly, he and business partner Craig Belser, two home
brewers, were without their favorite beverage and pastime.
"It was a double-edged sword because I miss it," Seplowitz said.
"But at least we knew what good beer was supposed to taste like."
What began as a simple desire for craft-brewed beer that
wouldn't threaten their health became a process that would span over three
years and and involve the testing of dozens of possible brewing grains.
Bard's Tale's gluten-free beer, Dragon's Gold, is made of
sorghum, a grain without gluten. But the inspiration to use the grain didn't
mean the path to fresh beer was getting any shorter.
"When we started, we discovered there were over 10,000 varieties
of sorghum," Seplowitz said. "We did a lot of research and basically had to
become grain scientists."
The pair discovered that different varieties might show promise
at one stage of the brewing process but fail at another. It took about 60
tries to find one that made good beer.
Those beer substitutes Seplowitz talked about use rice syrup and
industrial enzymes to ferment the beer, but at the cost of flavor and beer
tradition, he said.
"We had a rice syrup recipe three years ago we could have
launched with," he said. "But we wanted to maintain the integrity of the
brewing industry. While we couldn't use barley and other grains, we didn't
feel that gave us the right to redefine what constitutes a beer."
So far, not just celiac brewers are trying the beer.
Beeradvocate.com rates it as "worth a try." Reviewers said the brew tastes
like a typical American lager with a few surprise flavors.
One reviewer said it was the first beer he'd had in 10 years,
presumably due to celiac disease.
"To get recommended by guys who consider themselves beer snobs
is just great," Seplowitz said.
Using their basic recipe, Bard's Tale is planning to create
different styles of gluten-free beer in the future. Right now, though, the
trouble is finding time to experiment.
"From our basic recipe, we can make IPAs or other beers,"
Seplowitz said. "The problem is, we're just flat-out brewing Dragon's Gold
right now."
Bard's Tale brews in 500-case batches, putting out 2,000 cases
of beer each month. Seplowitz said the company is looking to farm out some
of its brewing to boost production and free up time to make different beer
styles.