Friday, January 23, 2015

Foster's Lager

Foster's Fosters Australian Aussie oil can beer low gluten lager free celiac intolerant test result
Beer: Foster's Lager
Style: Pale Lager
Brewing location: Fort Woth, Texas, USA
Originating country: Australia
Alcohol by Volume: 5% 
Ingredients: water, hops, malted barley, corn syrup, yeast
Format tested: 25.4 oz oil can purchased in Los Angeles
Beeradvocate rating: 60/100
Ratebeer rating: 4/100
Test kit: E-Z Gluten

Miscellaneous
  • Foster's was created by two Irish American brothers, William M and Ralph R Foster, who arrived in Melbourne from New York in 1886
  • The brothers began brewing Foster's Lager in November 1888. It was made available to the public from February 1889. The product was first exported in 1901, when bottles were sent to Australian combatants in the Boer War.
  • In 1972, by a partnership between Foster's Australia and Miller Brewing Company, the 25.4oz Foster's Can arrived in the US. The steel can looked so much like an oil can, Americans gave it the nickname Foster's Oil Can and the name stuck.

Test result photo

Foster's Fosters Australian Aussie oil can beer low gluten lager free celiac intolerant test result


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 Foster's

Not a bad drop. I find Foster's has a very distinctive taste. Certainly more bitter than most mass market lagers and surprisingly crisp and refreshing. It's one of the few beers that tastes the same wherever it's brewed - Fort Worth, Manchester, Southbank. I don't drink Foster's often, but drinking it today in LA, it tastes the same as what I used to drink in London 20 years ago. 

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 25.4 oz. can in 60 minutes feeling no gluten effects.