test the gluten content of your beer

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How to read the gluten test summary table

The most visited page on my site is the test results summary table. As I received a few enquiries how the table works here a short explanation on how to read the test results.

I test the beer with two different test kits which also work differently.

The Gluten-in-Food kit works with an intensity scale, the darker the test spot the more gluten is in the sample. The test spot intensity is scaled from 0 (no visible spot) to 20 (dark red) whilst the control spot is estimated with an intensity of 6/7 (light pink). This allows the estimation of the level of gluten based on assay from the manufacturer.

The GlutenTox Home kit works with thresholds which can be set to 40, 20 or 5 ppm depending of the number of drops from the extraction solution which will be added to the unit. If a red test line appears the test is positive based on the defined threshold.

This is how it looks like on desktop PC’s:

Gluten Test Table Help

On smartphones and other responsive devices it looks like this:

Gluten Test Table Help

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23 Comments

  1. Laurens

    Change colors of “negative” and “positive” from both yellow to, say blue nad red to allow easier distinction

    • Avatar photo

      Hi Laurens, this is actually a fantastic idea. Thanks for that, need to update the table anyway.

      Cheers Steffen

  2. Cheyne Colley

    Hi Steffen,
    great website and very informative from a recently diagnosed coelic. I love a beer but generally can’t find a gluten free/low gluten beer on tap, apart from the odd Pure Blonde ( which i drink at home in stubbies with little to no side effects). Is there any chance you could test and hopefully find some low gluten ‘mainstream’ beers.
    Thanks very much,
    Cheyne

    • Avatar photo

      Hi Cheyne,

      Tapped beers are difficult to test in general. I mean you can only do this in the pub/bar/restaurant directly and even then the results will be different depending on the place. If you test the same beer from the same tap one week later it already can show a different test result as they probably changed the barrel already. Also a tapped bud in one bar can have a different test result than in another bar. There are many ways from cross-contamination.

      Cheers Steffen

  3. DogbiteWilliams

    Attn: Cheyne Colley –

    Click on “All test results at a glance” in the right-hand column. Steffen has tested many mainstream beers. Those testing negative include Bud Light, Coors Light and Pabst Blue Ribbon.

    Plisner Urquell and Warsteiner are available at Trader Joe’s and they rate higher than the beers I mentioned in the first paragraph. Check the reviews at Beer Advocate and RateBeer.

  4. Karl mccarthy

    This is brilliant, just realised my fav. Bud is ok Cheers 🙂

  5. Graeme

    Hi Steffen

    Fantastic …..any plans to test effes?

  6. David Parker

    This is wonderful. Any chance you could test alcohol free beers? Like St Pauli NA?

    • Avatar photo

      Hi David, well we tested already alcohol free beers, please look at the Asahi Dry Zero and Coopers Birell Ultra Light (0.5%) tests. I personally prefer the normal beer but have not so many instead. Cheers Steffen

  7. Jared

    have you updated testing for 2020 on coors light? Bud light? Coronoa Light or even Yuengling?

    • Avatar photo

      Hi Jared, well 2020 just started and I also will not test so much anymore, see http://www.lowgluten.org/100-gluten-tests/

      I will still do some tests from time to time and keep the site alive but I would encourage you all to purchase some kits on your own and test your favourite beer. Then spread the information as many Ceoliacs would be interested in the results.

      Cheers Steffen

  8. Abbie Riley

    This is awesome! Thanks Steffen

  9. franKENStin

    I’m a little lost. Wen you say a thresh hold test of 5 negative does that mean it exceeded the thresh hold ? Might be easier to see list if you put “thrush hold 5 = 5+ppm” or “thrush hold 20 = 20-ppm” or similar to this post..
    http://gluteninbeer.blogspot.com/2014/05/summary-of-gluten-in-beer-test-results.html

    • Avatar photo

      Hi franKENStin, yes it means the test result on 5 ppm was negative, which means there is no gluten above 5 ppm. Same for positive: if you see a test with 5 ppm positive it means up to 5 ppm gluten was detected in the sample. Could be more but the threshold was set to 5 ppm. It then would make sense to also test on a 20 ppm threshold for instance.
      I structured it that way because of the different approach of the test kits. One works with thresholds, the other with intensity. And this is difficult to combine in one table.
      Hope that helps.

      Cheers Steffen

  10. Jerry

    Thank you so much for providing this service. I consider myself very Gluten-sensitive. I love beer and and over time I have determined Less Gluten or Gluten free is best for me. Omission Beers and Coors Light seem to bother me the least.

    • Avatar photo

      Hi Jerry, that’s exactly the purpose of my site. Focus on low gluten beers. If you feel good with them and if your regular check-ups are OK then you should be fine. Coors Light is -according to my test- naturally low in gluten and Ommission uses Brewers Clarex to reduce gluten so that it’s considered gluten free.
      Cheers Steffen

  11. Patty

    Greetings. Thanks much for the info. Are there any easily available IPA’s that are gf or very low in gluten? I’m a lagunitas and Sierra Nevada fan but sadly my gut is fighting back abs has gotten my attention.

  12. Laurie Brewer

    Thank you, thank you thank you!!!!!

  13. Kelly Morrison

    Omg I have just found your site. I really miss having a pint watching rugby with hubby but now I can see easily what I can have. Any chance you can test tennants lager. Thanks x

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