Australian scientists develop world-first gluten-free barley beer
The result is a full-flavoured beer which conforms to the German purity law Reinheitsgebot – whereby a beer is made from barley, water, yeast and hops only.
Gluten intolerant beer lovers can fear no more after Australian scientists on Friday announced a breakthrough in gluten-free beer.
In a world-first, barley grown by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has been specifically bred to contain “ultra-low” levels of hordeins, the type of gluten found in barley.
The result is a full-flavoured beer which conforms to the German purity law Reinheitsgebot – whereby a beer is made from barley, water, yeast and hops only.
Using conventional breeding we’ve reduced the gluten levels to 10,000 times less than regular barley
Gluten-free beers are currently offered by breweries around the world, but they do not contain barley; instead, other fermentables such millet, rice and sorghum are used in its place.
The result of the CSIRO research means those who are gluten intolerant, such as those with coeliac disease, can happily enjoy the world’s most popular alcoholic beverage.
Principal Research Scientist Dr Crispin Howitt said the barley bred by the CSIRO, called Kebari, was a world-first and suitable as part of a gluten-free diet.
“Using conventional breeding we’ve reduced the gluten levels to 10,000 times less than regular barley which more than meets the World Health Organisation’s recommendation for calling a grain gluten-free,” Howitt said in a statement on Friday.