Cooper's Ginger Beer - Gluten Free?

MikeH

Hello,

I have a friend who drinks Crabbies and the like instead of wheat based beers.  Does any one know if the Cooper's ginger beer kit is suitable for a gluten and/or wheat free diet?  I wouldn't want to feed him something that was going to make him ill!

Cheers, Mike...

HBO_Staff

The beer kit manufacturers are usually vague about this and will not guarantee anything as gluten or wheat free, but we will put the question to Coopers and see what they say about their range and report back as soon as we hear from them. What we have done to help with this common need for 'Gluten Free' is introduce a range which is genuinely gluten free, the extract is made from 100% gluten free sorghum extract, which is white sorghum grain and water. The range is called 'Gone With The Wheat' and there are 2 lagers in the range and a Strawberry Blonde;

http://home-brew-online.myshopify.com/collections/all/products/gone-with-the-wheat-german-lager

http://home-brew-online.myshopify.com/collections/all/products/gone-with-the-wheat-strawberry-blonde

http://home-brew-online.myshopify.com/collections/all/products/gone-with-the-wheat-european-czech-style-lager

HBO_Staff

As promised here is Coopers' response;

Unfortunately we can not say that the Coopers Line of malts or ginger beers are suitable for the diets you’ve outlined.  All of the Malts are produced in the same Coopers factory that produces wheat and gluten full malts and beers.

A suitable alternative for those customer who want to brew, would be cider since it usually does not have malts added

MikeH

Thanks for going to the trouble of finding out for me, I really appreciate it.  I'll keep that in mind, might brew one for my self any way to see what it's like.  But currently I've got a standard Cooper's lager on the go, it's gone /mental/ in the bucket the last couple of days.  Bit of leakage but not enough to be concerned about, it's a lively little lager that one!  Looking forwards to it.  And the ginger beer, of course, when it's had time to mature.

Thanks again, Mike....

HBO_Staff

We've made the Coopers Ginger Beer a few times and love it, a great taste especially when chilled down in the fridge before drinking, and highly recommend it.

The lager may be fermenting quite vigorously if it is quite warm, this will often make it more lively, it will then calm down and slow right down for the last few days, so check it with your hydrometer to be sure it's finished. It's a popular Lager, we recommend using a brew enhancer instead of sugar for best results as it improves the head and body of it, but either way, leave it to condition for a while and you'll end up with a nice, easy drinking lager