Expert: Matt Dick - 8/30/2009

Question
Matt
My doctor says I might have sub clinical gluten intolerance. This may explain why I get so bloated after a few beers-beer has wheat which has gluten.
I seem to remember that Budweiser is made with rice, or at least partly so? Is that correct? Do you know of any other major brands carried nationwide that are low gluten or made from rice?

Answer
Okay, I am posting this followup at the top so you'll see it.  Thanks to some friends of mine who have some gluten intolerance, I've found a beer that is made from sorghum, a syrup from the grain "milo".  Redbridge is made by Anheiser-Busch:

http://www.redbridgebeer.com/

The reviews I've read are reasonably favorable.  It's no one's favorite beer, but the general consensus is that it is a drinkable beer.

From there I found:

http://www.bardsbeer.com/
http://www.merchantduvin.com/pages/5_breweries/greens_beers.htm#disc_amber
http://www.newgrist.com/

A brewery named Ramapo makes a "honey beer" which is gluten free (not sure why this isn't a mead):
http://www.rvbrewery.com/html/honey_beer.html

So check them out and let me know what you think!

Regards,
Matt

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Wow... very interesting conundrum.  But as you've already surmised, there are certainly great options for you.

Budweiser definitely is made from rice, but it still has some barley in it.  In fact as far as I know all beers have *some* barley.

I will do some additional research into what proportions of rice to barley the major brands have and I'll let you know in a follow-up answer.  In the mean time, Asahi and Sapporo are both Japanese beers which are available in the States and have a rich history of rice... not just as a way to cheapen the product.  I have always liked Sapporo myself, so I can endorse it as a very drinkable beer, as long as you're in the mood for a light lager.

More as I learn it.

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I have done some more research and in the course of it, re-read your original email.  To get more specific, wheat and barley are not the same grain.  They are both grasses, and barley indeed is high in gluten, but they aren't exactly the same.  This is just for reference.

So even amongst light lagers, you will see some differences in barley to rice ratios.  The American products brewed at the largest breweries (Budweiser being the biggest) are around 50% rice.  European and microbrewed beers, even if they are similar light lagers, will typically have 10-20% rice. So definitely stick to Budweiser/Miller, etc.

Breweries guard their specific ingredient lists more closely than I can easily crack.  None of my books at home have a listing, and my on-line research is not yielding results.  I will keep my eyes open and if I ever do find a good link I'll make sure to update this response.

Good luck!