Ridgeway Gluten Free Beers start their life with a low protein English malt. An extended and carefully controlled brewing process then removes over 99% of the original gluten. At this point we have 20 - 35 milligrams per kilo, which qualifies as ''very low gluten content'' and is on the edge of being called ''GLUTEN FREE''.
The trouble with 'gluten free' limits is that they are measured in milligrams per kilo, with 20mg/kg being the official maximum in a gluten free food. This limit is fine for solid foods because who eats a kilo of gluten free bread in a sitting? However you might very well consume more volume of gluten when the bread is combined with a decent beer, so we feel that the '20' limit is too high. We go a step further with a target of 'less than 5 milligrams'.
It is increasingly accepted that it is the total amount of gluten consumed per day that is crucial, rather than the concentration in an individual meal or mouthful. Scientific literature places the 'total daily consumption' range as 10mg for the most severe sufferers, through to 50mg for more tolerant coeliacs. This corresponds to between 4 and 20(!) bottles of our gluten free beers per day so safe for any moderate drinker.
To be 100% certain that a coeliac customer can safely drink our beers with other low gluten products we add a tiny amount of a specialised clarifying protease to each fermentation. This breaks down the final 1% gluten to achieve the 5mg/kg or less. Every batch is independently tested to confirm this.
The trouble with 'gluten free' limits is that they are measured in milligrams per kilo, with 20mg/kg being the official maximum in a gluten free food. This limit is fine for solid foods because who eats a kilo of gluten free bread in a sitting? However you might very well consume more volume of gluten when the bread is combined with a decent beer, so we feel that the '20' limit is too high. We go a step further with a target of 'less than 5 milligrams'.
It is increasingly accepted that it is the total amount of gluten consumed per day that is crucial, rather than the concentration in an individual meal or mouthful. Scientific literature places the 'total daily consumption' range as 10mg for the most severe sufferers, through to 50mg for more tolerant coeliacs. This corresponds to between 4 and 20(!) bottles of our gluten free beers per day so safe for any moderate drinker.
To be 100% certain that a coeliac customer can safely drink our beers with other low gluten products we add a tiny amount of a specialised clarifying protease to each fermentation. This breaks down the final 1% gluten to achieve the 5mg/kg or less. Every batch is independently tested to confirm this.