Stella Artois is the best-selling beer in Belgium (its home country) and pretty popular around the world. It has mixed reviews on the beer market – from those who think it’s high-class import, to those who give it a reputation of getting people drunk to the point of rowdy. Either way, it’s a pale lager in a pretty green bottle. Show
No, Stella-Artois original lagers are not gluten-free. The main ingredient is barley which contains gluten. While some beers are known to use enzymes to reduce gluten levels, Stella Artois makes no such claims. Stella Artois Cider is made from gluten-free ingredients. The best gluten-free alternatives to Stella-Artois are Green’s Beers Discovery Amber Ale, Estrella Damm Daura, and Glutenberg Beers. Stella Artois had a Gluten-Free version launched in 2018 in the UK, but I confirmed with Anheuser-Busch that Stella Artois does not currently have a gluten-free beer. We’ll talk about the beers and ciders listed on the Stella Artois website and finally present some gluten-free options. With over 100 gluten-free options on the market, there is no shortage of alternatives. Let’s dig in! Contents
HistoryThe Den Hoorn Brewery began back in 1366 and was a local tavern and brewery until 1708. Sebastian Artois became the head brewer and a short time later renamed it to Brouwerij Artois. In 1926, Stella was introduced around Christmastime. Its name was appropriately named after the Christmas Star. Its popularity rose and soon the company was marketing it year-round. With a brief halt to production around World War II, it soon was thriving with operation expansion into the UK. In 1988, it took a bigger turn when it was involved with a merger creating a company called Interbrew, along with new packaging and bottle designs. In 2004, Interbrew merged with InBev to join one of the biggest beverage companies in the world. In 2008, InBev also merged with Anheuser Busch to create a conglomerate. Today, Stella Artois is brewed in Belgium, the UK, and a few other countries. In the United States, it is distributed under the Anheuser Busch umbrella, which gives it even more visibility. Gluten in BeerGluten is natural in traditional grains used in the brewing process. Stella Artois uses barley which is a gluten grain. Other beers use wheat, rye, or oats. Beer makers can create gluten-free beers in a couple of ways. The first is by using their original recipe and incorporating enzymes that essentially eat away at the gluten proteins, resulting in a beer with less than 20 parts per million. This is within the limits of the FDA standards, but since the ingredients list still contains a gluten ingredient, they are labeled as gluten-reduced or gluten-removed. Other beers are created with non-gluten grains such as sorghum, millet, rice, buckwheat, or corn. These beers can be labeled gluten-free. If you are very sensitive, you might want to try these options. Note about Ingredients and Nutrition FactsAlcohol is not regulated by the FDA and therefore manufacturers are not required to place ingredient and nutrition labels on their products. Sometimes outside sources will perform an analysis to provide this information, but more often, there is limited information due to proprietary recipes. Stella Artois VarietiesAs of the writing of this article, these four options are listed on Stella Artois’ website. There is no mention of a gluten-free beer.
Stella Artois LagerIngredients:
Nutrition Facts (per 11.2 fl oz):
Stella Artois Petite LagerIngredients:
Nutrition Facts (per 7 fl oz):
Stella Artois Solstice LagerIngredients:
Nutrition Facts (per 11.2 fl oz):
Stella Artois Midnight LagerIngredients:
Nutrition Facts (per 11.2 fl oz):
Stella Artois CidreA European-style cider that is gluten-free. Ingredients:
Nutrition (per 12 fl oz):
Stella Artois LiberteA non-alcoholic beer option. Non-alcoholic beer is manufactured the same way as regular beer. At the end of the process, the alcohol is removed through a variety of processes. In the United States, alcohol levels can be 0.5% by volume and still be technically alcohol-free. If any alcohol is still in the process, it is sometimes labeled light beer (not to be confused with higher content light beers that reduce carbs and calories), small beer, or near bear Ingredients:
Nutrition Facts:
AlternativesGreen’s BeersCreated by a founder who suffered from celiac disease, Green’s Amber Ale is a Belgian beer made from gluten-free ingredients. There are several varieties:
Discovery Amber AleIngredients:
Nutrition Facts (per 8.45 oz):
Estrella Damm DauraFrom Grupo Damm, which has been brewing beer since 1876, this gluten-free option from Spain is made from barley malt and a process that removes the gluten. Gluten levels are less than 3 parts per million, which is well below the FDA standards. This beer has won tons of awards for taste. Ingredients:
Nutrition Facts:
Glutenberg BeersGlutenberg has a whole line of beers that are gluten-free. Their grains are harvested from a farm that only grows gluten-free grains. They do not allow any gluten ingredients in their factories to reduce risk of cross-contamination. Beers range from 4.5% to 6.5% alcohol per volume. Varieties:
Ingredients (specific ingredients for each beer are not listed, but these are the grains used in their processes):
Nutrition Facts (in Glutenberg IPA):
Ipswich Ale’s Celia SaisonCreated by Ipswich Ale out of Massachusetts, this beer is made from non-gluten ingredients. They do produce other beers so beware of cross-contamination. Ingredients:
Nutrition Facts:
Evasion BrewingOut of Oregon, this brewery boasts gluten-free options, in a dedicated gluten-free facility. Their barrel-aged specialties reach alcohol by volume content of 13.9% and are in very limited supply. I bring up this brewery to show you that there are smaller independent companies all over the world that are leaping into gluten-free beer production. It helps to check out local options. Varieties:
Hophoria IPAIngredients in Hophoria IPA:
Nutrition Facts:
Alt BrewCreated in Madison, Wisconsin, this beer is made from gluten-free ingredients in a gluten-free facility. The owner was inspired to manufacture the beers after finding out that his wife was gluten intolerant. Varieties:
Hollywood Nights IPAIngredients in Hollywood Nights IPA:
Anheuser Busch Red Bridge BeerWe’d be remiss not to mention this gluten-free beer made by the same parent company as Stella Artois. Ingredients:
Nutrition Facts (per 12 fl oz):
What is a lager?Stella Artois is a lager, but what does that mean? Beers come is a variety of textures including pale ale, blonde, stout, pilsner, and lager. Lagers are defined as effervescent, light in color, and body. It can have a bitter taste with pine, floral and grassy hints. Brewmasters can add notes of other flavors such as caramel, coffee, and chocolate. It’s all about appealing to the consumer’s tastes. Does Stella Artois have a bad reputation in the UK?Stella Artois has an association with binge drinking and aggressive behavior in the UK. It stems from the higher alcohol by volume content, and popularity among binge drinkers. Over the years this content has dropped slowly (another slight controversy). An alternative story is that the name Stella is used by a character in “A Streetcar Named Desire,” and it has kind of stuck just because of the name. It’s tried hard over the years to reverse this stereotype, but this is a story that keeps appearing. What is the Belgian Pouring Ritual?Stella Artois has a ritual for pouring their beers that starts with chilling the beer, rinsing the glass, opening the bottle, pouring the beer at a precise angle to get the right amount of head (foam), and cleaning the glass before drinking.
Is there a glutenNo, Stella-Artois original lagers are not gluten-free. The main ingredient is barley which contains gluten. While some beers are known to use enzymes to reduce gluten levels, Stella Artois makes no such claims. Stella Artois Cider is made from gluten-free ingredients.
What common beers are glutenTypes of gluten-free beer. Buck Wild Pale Ale by Alpenglow Beer Company (California, USA). Copperhead Copper Ale by Alt Brew (Wisconsin, USA). Redbridge Lager by Anheuser-Busch (Missouri, USA). Felix Pilsner by Bierly Brewing (Oregon, USA). Pyro American Pale Ale by Burning Brothers Brewing (Minnesota, USA). What kind of beer has the most gluten?The amount of gluten in beer is measured in parts per million (ppm). In most countries, food and beverages must contain fewer than 20 ppm of gluten to be considered gluten-free ( 8 ).. Lager: 63 ppm.. Stout: 361 ppm.. Ales: 3,120 ppm.. Wheat beer: 25,920 ppm.. Is Stella Artois Cidre glutenA full-flavored, gluten-free, European style cider featuring natural flavors. PER 12 FL.
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