Tecate

Beer: Tecate

Style: Pale Lager

Brewing location: Monterrey, Mexico

Originating country: Mexico

Alcohol by Volume: 4.5% 

Ingredients: Yeast, water, hops, malts

Format tested: 12 oz. can Los Angeles, CA

Beeradvocate rating: 61/100

Ratebeer rating: 1/100

Test kit: E-Z Gluten

Miscellaneous

• Named after the city of Tecate, Baja California, where it was first produced in 1943
• The custom of squeezing a lime into Mexican beer began with Tecate beer. The original Master Brewer was of Scottish descent (last name Lorimer), who brought the idea from Great Britain where sailors would be given limes with their daily ration of grog to stave off scurvy (this is where the expression "limey" came from.
• Tecate has the highest canned beverage sales of any import to the U.S. 

Test result photo

Test result

Very High Positive at 20 parts per million (ppm), meaning it is more than 20 ppm. 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 Tecate

Certainly not a memorable beer or one I would choose to drink. It's a step above the mass produced American domestic beers but not by much. Watery, fizzy, forgettable. Nevertheless, it's a disappointing result given that until now Mexican beers were 3-0 under 20 ppm gluten. 

I am not sure where I fall in the gluten tolerance spectrum; I am gluten intolerant but not celiac. 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 consumed this 12 oz. can in 45 minutes and felt no gluten effects.