Beer: Guinness
Style: Irish Dry Stout
Originating country: Ireland
Brewing location: St James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland
Ingredients: Roasted malted-barley, hops, water, Guinness Yeast
Alcohol by volume: 4.2%
Format tested: draught pint purchased in London, England
Beer Advocate Rating: 79/100 (draft)
Ratebeer Rating: 88/100 (can)
Test kit: E-Z- Gluten
Miscellaneous
- The biggest selling markets for Guinness in 2004 were (in order): Great Britain, Ireland, Nigeria, US, Cameroon.
- It’s not black. Guinness is actually a deep, ruby red, a color the company attributes in part to the roasting of malted barley during the beer’s preparation.
- 40 percent of all Guinness is brewed and sold in Africa
- Nicknames for Guinness: the black stuff, Liffey water, black custard, diesel
- Guinness tastes better in Ireland (I can vouch) and nobody knows why
Test result photo
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 Guinness
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 not had anything beyond a sip of Guinness since being diagnosed gluten intolerant.
I have celiac disease but have found I can have Guinness with no ill effects. I wondered why and found the site that I linked below. Basically, Guinness contains no wheat and is made from barley BUT the barley does not contain pure gluten; it has a gluten-like molecule. Think of it this way: if you can't have butter, you can have a butter-like substitute like margarine! So this gluten-like molecule does not trigger gluten trigger. Enjoy! https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCcQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.foodrepublic.com%2F2013%2F05%2F28%2Fglutards-foray-minimal-wheat-beers&ei=3zpzVLjiEceZyATJmYLgAQ&usg=AFQjCNF9f1wlF14-ZBAiTRbE3G0Oc47-Ow
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That is an interesting observation Silly Celiac. I don't eat wheat. Not for medical reasons, just a dietary choice. I always heard that Guinness was wheat free as well. So it's the barley that creates the positive gluten test is what you are saying. I wonder how many of the other beers tested contain no wheat but test positive for gluten due to barley. Wheat and gluten are not one in the same it appears.
ReplyDelete'Wheat and gluten are not one in the same it appears"
Deleteduh. Many many many beers don't contain wheat. All contain gluten if made traditionally...barley, hops, water yeast.
Wasn't it the re-engineered wheat varieties right after World War 2, bred for producing more while remaining short stalked that introduced the gluten that infected the rest of the world's wheat barley rye and oats? Or was it always this way and people just recently figured out what causes all these different levels of health problems?
DeleteSilly Celiac,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you are able to consume Guinness with no ill effects... However, Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disorder that is triggered by a protein composite found in wheat, rye, AND barley. So suggesting that people with Celiac need not avoid barley seems a bit careless. Many beers are wheat free... but that doesn't make them free of gluten. The gluten in barely counts. Perhaps you have a wheat allergy and were misdiagnosed... In any case, I felt people should be warned to be cautious before willingly exposing themselves to gluten...
I agree with Silly Celiac. I have a lot of problems with craft beers now and am definitely gluten intolerant. But I can drink Guinness with no ill effect - it's been a real bonus
ReplyDeleteI know your comment was meant years ago but do you/can you still drink Guinness? Draught/canned/bottled? I miss it and hadn't dated yet it for years. As a sharer of info though, I happily drink Timothy Taylor's Landlord in bottles. No ill effects.
DeleteDiagnosed Coeliac...tolerate Guinness with no issue whatsoever also.Of course no one knows what (if anything) consumption of it does to the intestinal villi and antibody levels. Guinness really should man up themselves and do some proper analysis of their product.
ReplyDeleteWheat, barley, rye and oats all contain similar proteins which is often bundled together under the name gluten. The wheat protein is gluten, barley is hordein, rye is secalin and oats is avenin. All four of them contain the same protein fraction, called gliadin, which causes trouble in celiacs. If you are gluten intolerant (a simple gut reaction as opposed to the full blown celiac auto immune disease), you may be able to tolerate barley, rye and oats, which contain lesser amounts. If you are wheat intolerant, steer clear of wheat. But to claim that celiacs can consume any of the four grains safely is misleading and to encourage them to do so is irresponsible. As a celiac, you may believe you can consume Guinness without ill effects, but all celiacs know that damage may not be perceptible, and villous atrophy and all the other wonderful sides effects of the disease can happen silently.
ReplyDeleteFantastically said.
DeleteWheat contains gliadin i glutenin....gluten is umbrella term for all of the above proteins.
DeleteOats do not contain gluten! Even the Celia Foundation finally admitted this fact. Wheat, rye and barley. That's it. I have celiac disease and for whatever reason, Guinness does not make me sick.
Deleteperfect reply. thanks.
DeleteDrink an occasional Guinness and just had oatmeal for breakfast.No problems whatsoever. Less than 20 ppm in any beer causes no problems. I have clinacally diagnosed celiac disease and am super sensitive to gluten. Accidently consumed gluten a few years ago which caused such pain, vomiting etc.that I was hospitalized. Guiness, Corona and Heineken cause zero problems.
Deletefirst, I was diagnosed with dairy allergies for 5 years. Still always ill. Secondly, I was re-diagnosed and told I was not allergic to dairy and told I had many food allergies with gluten being the main culprit. Every time I consumed bread or beer (Budweiser, ales, almost any amber) my body would react inside 2 minutes with congestion, headaches, snffles, sneezing, stomach ache etc. So I stopped drinking beer and started drinking cocktails instead. The cocktails did not affect me as much as however I could tolerate Vodka. After a trip to Ireland for a wedding I decided the hell with it and I grabbed some Benedryl and decided to drink some Guinness. Some turned into lots and I decided not to take the Benedryl and go with the pain. Turns out no pain no nothing. That was 8 years ago. Now I only drink Guinness and have absolutely zero issues. Now if I have a piece of bread that has yeast I will definitely be sneezing, coughing and everything else. What is weird is that if I make homemade flour tortillas which have no yeast I have zero problems. I mean zero problems. Any of you brainiacs care to comment.
ReplyDeleteWhoa! That's fantastic news about Guinness. Must definitely give it a try. So far, the only beer I've found I can tolerate is Corona (corn-based). It's quite good as far as lagers go, but miles away from the real thing (Guinness stout).
ReplyDeleteWell said, my husband is coeliac and cannot tolerate even small amounts of gluten, regardless of where it's from. Gluten is a protein found in several grains and must be avoided by coeliacs!
ReplyDeleteJust to add to some comments above I have no issue with Guinness either ( diagnosed as Coeliac ) but recently consumed by accident some crisps with dried barley malt vinegar extract and reacted violently to it. If barley was the source of my 'glutened' experience why aren't I having issues with Guinness ?!
ReplyDeleteJust because you don't feel anything, doesn't mean it isn't shredding your small intestine, which is the real sign of celiac, not the, I feel fine after.
DeleteI think it is because it is fermented... I have no issues and am gluten intolerant.
DeleteTry Murphy's stout. Tastes better than guinness and gluten free to boot..............
ReplyDeleteCoeliacs PLEASE beware. It is GLIADIN that causes the autoimmune response and gluten is only one of many gliadin compounds. Guiness is NOT SAFE for us. Many of the adverse effects, including the predisposition to cancers, MAY not be perceptible after drinking a Guiness but are likely to occur all the same. I am a medical doctor and also a coeliac and much as I would like to drink Guiness (and all barley based beers) the risk to our long term health is just not worth it.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to start drinking more barley based beer, as i always have.
DeleteI am diabetic and coeliac, I have been drinking cider (zero gluten) and it sends my blood sugar way high and makes me drowsy for a couple of days. If I drink dark ales, porter or stout, even 6-7 pints, no issues whatsoever! Need more info, so please do not try this at home!
ReplyDeleteMany commercial breweries use CLARITY FERM from whitelabs in the states as a clarifying agent in their beer.
ReplyDeleteThis strips the beer of many of its protein molecules via an ensyme added during the fermentation process.IE gluten and is used in concentration to produce Celiac safe gluten reduced beers - Some however insist that this merely breaks down the gluten molecule and hides it but i drink plenty with no side effects
After reading the comments here, I think that many people who suffer from celiac's disease think that they are stuck with the disease and that's it. My understanding is that celiac's disease is developed from a gluten intolerance. Once the gluten intolerance is recognized and the intake of gluten proteins stops, then the body starts to heal. Once healed, a person (such as in my case) may be able to tolerate a moderate amount of offending proteins with very little damage. So far, I can drink a single pint here and there with not much side effects, but on a regular basis, I drink only Corona. I can have quite a bit of it with no ill effects other than the taste.
ReplyDeleteWrong, I'm afraid. Coeliac disease is an auto-immune disorder, and you ARE stuck with it. Please be wary of encouraging people who are no longer experiencing symptoms to go back to a "moderate amount" of gluten. They - and you - might not have symptoms, but the damage is silent, and doesn't stop
DeleteI said... "may be able to tolerate a moderate amount of offending proteins with very little damage." BUT, I see your point about encouraging others and you're right, that might be a problem. Some people are more sensitive than others. Some people are more healthy than others.
DeleteI enjoy Guinness Draught regularly but the others bother me (i.e; dry stout), I'm a celiac who eliminated all pastas, breads etc and Guinness def doesn't bother me, after seeing a lot of other people w the same sentiment, I wonder if there is some misdiagnoses or something, for instance corona bothers me, less than other beers but still, I avoid most beers; Omission Brewing has great tasting gluten free beers, def my favorite if u like lagers, pale or IPAs
ReplyDeleteI have awful gluten reactions - colon and espohagus close on me. I bloat like I'm malnurished baby...
ReplyDeleteAnyway, Guinness is better on my than Miller or Coors lite. What I've been told is that the roasting of certain malts/barley/etc destroys the gluten -like over-working pizza or pasta doing destroys the enzyme...
Sounds legit and I've received nods and "hmm"'s from docs and chemists who tend to agree to the logic...
Bottom line. I can drink it without issue. Haven't tried a 12 pack but I have it without concern.
I don't have celiac disease, but I'm very gluten intolerant, and I found to my joy that I can drink Guinness with no ill effects whatsoever. It's a pretty wonderful discovery for someone who likes dark beer but can't handle gluten.
ReplyDeleteAs a coeliac I haven't drunk Guinness in 10 years. I've just stumbled across your website. You report "Very high positive at 20 parts per million (ppm)". Do your records show if a beer is less than 100 ppm (Low-gluten), which I can tolerate?
ReplyDeleteAs a coeliac and very sensitive to the Gluten,only being glutend 4 times in 15 years. I have been practicing drinking wine and still missing a pint of beer. Might chance the Guinness. Murphy's stout sounds good only if you think it's safe.
ReplyDeleteWold top Marmalade porter is very good and less than 20parts p million
If I may suggest, look for beers made with sorghum instead of barley malt. They are out there, just can be difficult to find. As I understand it, Sorghum based beers are safe as Sorghum supposedly does not contain gliaden or gluten. I haven't found any near me but hope to order some soon. I do cheat and have Guinness and Warsteiner Dunkel on occasion. I know I shouldn't but can't really help myself. If anyone knows of a sorghum based Stout or Porter I'd love to know!
ReplyDeleteRed bridge
DeleteI recently found many useful information in your website especially this blog page. Among the lots of comments on your articles. Thanks for sharing. beer tables and chairs set
ReplyDeletegot diagnosed today and the only thing i was sad about was no guinness/murphys
ReplyDeletebut after reading all comments im going gluton free for couple weeks see if feel better then try the black stuff and pray no bad effects
Nonsense. It takes months, probably up to a year, to heal the damage to your gut tract caused by coeliac. It is gluten, not gluton. You will not feel better after a couple of weeks - you will not see signs of recovery before two months at least. You will not recover from the damage of coeliac if you start drinking Guinness, and I really think you need to contact a coeliac specialist as you seem entirely clueless to the lifelong autoimmune disease you have been diagnosed with.
DeleteI stopped eating gluten over twenty years ago. I wouldn't have survived another month if I hadn't. The benefits from not eating gluten started almost immediately. I put 7stone in weight on in a year. My specialist said this was because I was so poorly when I started the gf diet. The smallest amount of gluten makes me extremely poorly.
DeleteNo, it does not need to be removed at all. Everyone's level of tolerance is different. If Guinness does not bother some people, good for them. Don't be a person that lives in fear of gluten. I can't eat regular bread, cereal, cookies or whatever, I get extremely ill. But guess what, I can drink Guinness, I can drink a Corona, and a few others. I can't drink a great many other beers as they make me sick. Your body, your choice. Don't be one of those alarmists.
ReplyDeleteI spoke with Diagio's customer careline today, Guinness draught does contain wheat for the English market. Check specifically for your own location. Guinness original contains barley, which usually means it is not malted or roasted. Knowing brewing stout myself, this should only be roasted barley. The purpose of my phonecall was to check this. I was assured that this is so. There should be no protein reaction as the heavy roast used for the unmalted barley causes degredation of the proteins. Only Original and West Indies porter is singly made from barley, for England.
ReplyDeleteBe aware that variations in the process of beer manufacture must occur due to local conditions and ingredients. Whilst I may continue to trust Heineken, Corona and San Miguel, I do not perceive Guinness to be as reliable in producing beers that are safe for immune compromised people. Check the label, check with distributer, check with the brewer if possible.
I don't willingly eat wheat rye or spelt, do eat GF rolled oats, maize tortilla and poppadoms.
Dry grains and legumes are always washed, soaked and washed before any cooking, even white rice and red split lentils. My great grandparents survived, bringing up large healthy families with soaked grains and legumes. The heavy promotion of the Great(damned) war encouraged some to volunteer, satisfying the elite in the satanic depopulation.
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Whisky has no Gluten in it..because its distilled... maybe its because the Barley is roasted quite substantially.
ReplyDeleteChanging the affecting protein... I too can drink Guinness with no reaction.. yes it is a bonus as its low in calories and has a nutrition value...
Well, I’m sipping a pint of Guinness Stout, at the Guinness Store House in Dublin now. I’ll know soon if I react to barley as well as wheat.
ReplyDeleteAny reaction? In Dublin tomorrow
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