What is gluten-free beer?
At Lowlander, we love brewing beer for everyone — even if your body isn’t too fond of gluten. But what’s the deal with gluten in beer, and how do we get it out?
Gluten is a protein that naturally occurs in wheat, rye, and barley. So yes — it’s in bread, cookies and... beer. No issue for most people, but for about 1% of the world’s population living with coeliac disease, gluten is a real party crasher. Their immune system sees gluten as an intruder and goes on high alert. That’s reason enough for us to craft a truly tasty gluten-free alternative — without compromising on flavour.
But wait — doesn’t the label say ‘barley malt’?
It does. And still, it’s gluten-free. Here’s why:
According to European regulations, a product can be called ‘gluten-free’ if it contains less than 20 ppm (parts per million) of gluten. That’s 20 milligrams per litre — a tiny amount. Regular beer is far above that limit, but we use a tried-and-tested process to bring it down dramatically.
How do we do that?
With an enzyme. Think of it like a little Pac-Man that goes gluten-hunting during the brewing process. It breaks the proteins down into tiny fragments—until there’s virtually nothing left. This process is called enzymatic hydrolysis (but don’t worry, you don’t need to remember that). All you really need to know is: it works.
And we make sure of it. Every batch of our Cool Earth Lager, Citrus Blonde, and Non-Alc Citrus Blonde is tested in an independent lab. Only when it scores below 20 ppm can it be officially labelled as ‘gluten-free’. For the brewing nerds out there: our most recently tested Cool Earth Lager came in at under 10.0 ppm.
So yes—our beer may contain barley, but no gluten that causes trouble. Gluten-free and full of flavour, just as you'd expect from us.
