Sunday, January 5, 2014

Heineken

Heineken gluten free beer low gluten test results bottle celiac intoleranceBeer: Heineken
Style: Pale Lager
Brewing location: Heineken Brouwerijen B.V., Amsterdam, Holland
Originating country: Holland
Alcohol by Volume: 5% 
Ingredients: purified water, malted barley, hops, and some sources say yeast. Others say only 3 ingredients.
Format tested: 12 oz bottle purchased in Los Angeles, CA USA
Beeradvocate rating: 64/100
Ratebeer rating: 6/100
Test kit: E-Z Gluten



Miscellaneous 
  • Heineken is one of the ‘big four’ brewers. Along with Belgium-based Anheuser-Busch InBev, London-listed SABMiller and Denmark’s Carlsberg they control half of the global beer market.
  • Bothered by Heineken bottles contributing to vast amounts of trash, Heineken briefly introduced rectangular bottles that could double as bricks for affordable housing in the Caribbean.
  • Heineken recently changed the shape of their bottle. The first redesign since 1946.

Test results photo

Heineken gluten free beer low gluten test results bottle celiac intolerance




















Test result
Very High Positive at 20 parts per million (ppm), meaning it is well over 20 ppm gluten. Though standards vary from country to country, according to the FDA, "in order to use the term 'gluten free' on its label a food must meet all the requirements of the definition, including that the food must contain less than 20 ppm gluten". It is said that products with a gluten content below 20 ppm are suitable for people with celiac disease.

My experience drinking Heineken
I am not sure where I fall in the gluten tolerance spectrum. I definitely know what it feels like to be "glutened" i.e. gluten exposure, but I have not deliberately pushed my gluten consumption limits with any food or beer. I have consumed 3 x 12 oz bottles of Heineken over a 3-4 hour period (drinking nothing else) without experiencing any kind of gluten reaction.

10 comments:

  1. Hi, I love your blog and look forward to every update. My husband is severely gluten intolerant and he can drink Heineken without any troubles either.

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  5. Thanks for all you do. I have a pest control office in Charlotte NC. envirosafe termite and pest www.pestcontrolcharlotte.net we have two techs that are ion gluten restricted diets and I started watching gluten to to help with arthritis. We stock Heiniken light and these guys swear that iit has to be gluten free. We hang out at office on Friday nights and they will knock down 6 or so without worries. Let me know how som of the Oktoberfest beers rate. Great blog! Love your updates!!

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  7. Per your listed ingredients: ALL beer contains yeast;without it, you don't have beer,you only have wort.

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  8. Someone in the "industry" told me that good folks over at Heineken recently changed its formula to make it much more gluten friendly. Anyone else hear that?

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  9. I also wonder if the formula changed. The guy on this other site tested Heineken and the results were different: http://www.lowgluten.org/gluten-test-results/ ... but different test kits, and I don’t know when the tests were done. Why can’t this be easier? :)

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