Brewers find crafty way to help drinkers go gluten-free

CRAFTY brewers are bringing cold comfort for tens of thousands of gluten-intolerant beer drinkers this summer.

There are gluten-free brews available but many say substituting traditional ingredients like wheat or barley malt leaves a bad taste in their mouths.

Now West Auckland craft brewers Hallertau reckon they have the answer for New Zealand’s estimated 70,000 sufferers of coeliac disease and the tens of thousands more who go gluten-free.

Head brewer Dave Huff said, as far as he knows, Riverhead-based Hallertau is the first New Zealand brewer to use an imported enzyme which breaks down gluten components leaving less than three parts per million – enough to meet New Zealand’s strict gluten-free legal requirements.

And, what’s more, he says the enzyme doesn’t change the beer’s taste. ‘‘You’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between this beer and normal beer.’’

Coeliac Society general manager Carl Sunderland said his organisation welcomed food tech that helps coeliac sufferers.

‘‘[Gluten-free] beer would just normalise the situation. If there’s products out there that normalise or not make you feel different it’s just great. Beers should be part of that normalcy.’’ JASON DORDAY / FAIRFAXNZ

It’s estimated 80 per cent of the country’s coeliac disease sufferers remain undiagnosed. And the average age of those who are diagnosed is in their 30s, meaning many are confirmed beerdrinkers, Sunderland said.

‘‘Having a beer with their friends is a way of life’’.

The Coeliac Society remains cautious despite Hallertau’s less than three ppm results, with Sunderland saying more accurate gluten level testing is needed and on the way.

‘‘It will provide greater assurance to the coeliac consumer that beers making a ‘nil detectable gluten’ claim are safe to drink,’’ Sunderland said.

Beer writer and critic Michael Donaldson diplomatically describes gluten free beer as tasting ‘‘different’’.

Gluten-free substitutes like sorghum and rice ‘‘doesn’t deliver the flavour we’re used to,’’ he said.

‘‘They can’t carry the same weight of flavour [as normal beer]’’.

Dave Huff of Hallertau Brewery says their gluten-free beer retains its maltiness.