I miss beer. I have been off of gluten for six years, and while I miss the rich, dark beers the most, like Guinness, I also miss having a lighter beer on a hot day. I miss being able to order a beer … and drinking it from a bottle.
I am not the only gluten-sensitive person at StyleBlueprint, and my co-worker has many more issues with gluten than I do. My health issues consisted of more than 15 years of daily headaches, achy joints, IBS, extreme PMS and odd rashes. All of these issues are gone now that I’m off gluten. My co-worker was in and out of specialists’ offices with more issues. So you can see that neither one of us willingly tests ourselves when it comes to possible gluten-filled products. We want to be pretty sure there is no gluten before we chomp down or drink up. But do note with this article that neither one of us has tested positive for Celiac disease.
Now, with this backdrop, picture the amazement on my face when said co-worker ordered a Corona Light at a work lunch a few weeks back. WHAT???? She said her friend, who also struggles with gluten issues, drinks it, and after researching, she thought it would be okay. She’s found that she can drink two with no apparent issues. I thought about it for three weeks and then one night, at our local hole-in-the-wall Mexican place, I ordered a Corona Light. I cannot fully explain how great it tasted. Six years of no beer, and suddenly I was holding a cold bottle with a lime squeezed in. Glorious!
So what is the deal here? I started researching … you know, research consisting of Google searches and going down various rabbit holes. What I found is that Corona and Corona Light have less than 20 ppm (parts per million) of gluten, but the beer is made from a recipe that starts with barley, which has gluten. In different countries, the definition of gluten-free varies. For example, in the European Union a beer with less than 20 parts per million gluten is considered gluten-free, while in Australia, only beers with no detectable gluten can be described as gluten-free (under 5 ppm). In the United States, to be labeled gluten-free, the food must come in under 20 ppm. Thus, the amount of gluten in Corona Light actually means it technically could be labeled gluten-free. It should be noted that Corona as a company has not commented on the whole gluten issue, at least not that I could find.
People experience different symptoms with different levels of gluten consumption, and we certainly don’t claim to practice medicine here at StyleBlueprint. Do your own research and talk to your doctor. But for those NOT battling Celiac disease and who simply prefer a gluten-free diet, your summer might be a whole lot sunnier with the addition of a Corona or Corona Light!
Sources to check out:
- Wikipedia: Gluten-free beer
- The Corona Conundrum
- Is Corona gluten-free?
For those of you still craving the cool, refreshing taste of beer but are not willing to take the Corona test, try a few of our favorite certified gluten free beers and ciders:
Dogfish Head Tweason’ale
Green’s Enterprise Dry-Hopped Lager
Estrella Damm: Daura
Crispin Cider
Smith and Forge
