Beer

 

I don’t like to put a damper on gluten-free beer, but I was someone who really enjoyed his beer. I used to drink a couple of pints of Adnams or Greene King, fairly regularly and I missed it after I was diagnosed. A few months ago, I tried a bottle of the same Adnams, as it someone said that the gluten level should be low. I had no ill effects, but the beer tasted awful.

Was it psychological or does it take time to get used to good beer?

Experiments with Adnams

 

I am not a supersensitive and have recently been talking to the Chief Brewer at Adnams. He has told me that the gluten levels in some of their beers are quite low. How low is open to question, as he told me that measuring gluten is not easy. I said that I’d try a bottle and see what happened. He urged me to be careful, but he would be interested in the results.

Last night, I drunk a half-litre bottle of Adnams Bitter with a chicken salad that I had for my supper. As of this morning, I have had no ill effects.

But the sad thing was that I wasn’t really enamoured with the taste of the beer after all these years. Especially, as I used to drink bottles of it with my supper before I was diagnosed. But then I remember when I was introduced to beer by father at about twelve, I wasn’t struck on the taste then. He said you had to learn to like it. He also reckoned that introducing kids to beer and wine early was a good thing as it meant they were less likely to get a drink problem. Not sure, if he was right, but I don’t have a drink problem, except with finding good half-bottles of wine. My three children were also introduced early and all three don’t drink alcohol at all.

Letter to The Times

 

This letter was published in The Times today.

Sir, Since the recent floods we have had to make do with bottled water. I have noticed that some bottles contain water that is said to be “gluten free”. So far I have not discovered any bottled water that “may contain gluten”.
DR DAVID STEVENS, Cheltenham, Glos

Ooze - Part 2

 

I went to Ooze in Goodge Street in Central London on Thursday. Enjoyed it too. So did others as it was pretty busy.

I had a sirloin steak risotto which because of the red onions resulted in purple rice. Interesting and enjoyable. The wine was good too.

I can certainly recommend it to any coeliacs who want something different to eat in London.

The only thing against the restaurant is it that the decor is a bit stark and too white for my taste. But then what do I know about modern design?

Nigerian Guinness

 

Someone just complained on Radio 5 that his Guinness Export bought from Tesco was brewed in Nigeria.

Is that the gluten-free stuff made from sorghum?

Rice Krispies

 

I checked on my Krispies and find that they actually label them as containing barley.

That is new or at least since I last checked about two years ago.

Still as I said before they don’t affect me at all. But then I can drink old-fashioned bottled Guinness without affect too! (I don’t now, incidentally!) I may stop but not at present!

A dietitian said they would be OK for me, some years ago.

Aspall Draught Cyder

 

Now I like a drink!

I used to be a bitter drinker (Adnams, Greene King etc.). But now I can’t.

I have tried all the normal draught ciders such as Strongbow, Scrumpy Jack etc. Crap!

But help is at hand! I was in the Red Lion at Kirtling near Newmarket and their draught cider is Aspall.

Yes! Aspall! It’s wonderful!

Gluten Free Beer

 

About a month ago I bought a case of Greens gluten-free beer!

There are still eleven bottles in the fridge and the cupboard.

Oh! Dear!

Tonight, I’ve wanted a drink and have had two bottles of Aspall’s Premier Cru Suffolk Cyder.

Absolute bliss!

Hangovers

 

I played real tennis at the weekend, with a PhD biochemistry student from Cambridge and we got to talking about hangovers!

I’ve never really suffered and even in my student days at Liverpool, I could drink very large amounts and wake in the morning very fresh. I can be a heavy drinker at times, but I can honestly say, I can’t remember my last hangover.

Could this lack of hangover be due to the coeliac disease, which I must have had all my life?

Or is it due to my East European Jewish genes? I’ve come across several others with similar ancestry and some seem to show the same tolerance as I do!

Gluten Free Carlsberg

 

I have a friend in Denmark and his flat-mate is coeliac.

They have said that doctors say that Carlsberg is gluten-free over there, but others here have raised doubts on this.

Never drunk that sort of lager anyway!

Always was an Adnams man, which has a very low gluten level as do a lot of real ales! Unfortunately, no-one will publish how much!

Now I stick to cider. Aspalls of course as I was conceived in and live in Suffolk!

Guinness

 

If Guinness are right then I can drink the Original.

Just like my father did!

I had one tonight and it tasted good!

Original Guinness

 

I'm starting to move away from the gluten-free diet as I have the appointment on the 3rd of October.

Before football (Ipswich won at last!), I had an Original Guinness, which they claim is gluten-free. I had no ill affects.

More on Whisky

 

A lot of advice for coeliacs says don't drink whisky!

But the Scotch Whisky Association and Coeliac UK say it's OK. So I'll go along with that!

Others say it is not, whisky is made from barley. But then most of those who say you can drink whisky, say that the gluten is left behind in the distillation process.

Update February 2005

I have drunk moderate amounts of whisky over the last eighteen months. I've never had a problem, except when I've drunk too much! But then my gut was fine!

More on Beer

 

Of all the things I will miss, beer is the most important.

I spent my first drinking years in Felixstowe and it was there that I really got a taste for real beer. Then it was Tolly or Cobbold and a little bit of Adnams. Now both Tolly and Cobbold have gone as brewers, Adnams are world-renowned and there is also the real ale giant Greene King in Bury St. Edmunds.

Read most of the coealic sites and they all say stay off beer as it made from barley which contains gluten.

So I asked CAMRA!

If you don't know the organisation, they are the Campaign for Real Ale, who as well as campaigning for good real beer, they also try and preserve the best of the pubs in the UK.

I got this informative reply from Ian Loe :-

"There are currently very few beers which are gluten free.

Basically you need a beer brewed with Sorghum (rather than malted barley) to ensure absence of gluten.

Nigerian Guinness is such a drink and can be found occasionally in the UK. We even have some at our Great British Beer Festival next week at London Olympia.

There is a gluten free beer being brewed by Heineken in Italy called Bi-Aglut sold via Farmacia shops in Italy and Free Aglut Beer sold via the Auchan supermarket chain.

A beer from the Ugandan Nile Breweries is also made from sorghum but I have no indication whether this will be made available in the UK. The Nile Breweries is owned by South African Breweries.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

It is to be hoped that a few UK brewers will take up the challenge to brew gluten free beer - for there is a demand."

So I'm not looking forward to drinking lots of beer!

Beer

 

I finally got around to sorting out the lack of beer.

Surprisingly Nigerian Guinness seems to be absolutely gluten-free as it made from sorghum. Also, one of my Danish friends lives with a coeliac sufferer, who says it is alright to drink Carlsberg and Tuborg!

I also checked out about my other staple alcohol, whisky, that is sometimes labeled as dangerous for coeliacs.

We went to a new Spanish restaurant at the Chestnut Tree in West Wratting this evening.

We talked to the chef and he just made one sauce with cornflour rather than flour. A very nice meal, except for the tempting bread on the table!