Levels of gliadin in commercial beers

The gliadin contents of twenty-eight commercially available beers spanning the range of grist material and alcohol level were determined using a competitive enzyme immunoassay (RIDASCREEN competitive ELISA kit). The gliadin levels ranged from <3 mg/l for gluten-free beers to 145.8 mg/l for filtered American Pale Wheat beers, with: American light lagers (3.9–12.2 mg/l), alcohol free beer (6.5 mg/l), American lagers (7.1–12.3 mg/l), English Pale Ale (7.3 mg/l), English Brown Ale (8 mg/l), European Pale lager (8.3 mg/l), Scottish Ale (12 mg/l), Low carb American lager (12.1 mg/l), American India Pale Ales (11.8–19.3 mg/l), American Pale Ales (14.6–15.3 mg/l), Czech Pilsner (14.9 mg/l), Sweet Stout (17.1 mg/l), Dry Stout (18.9 mg/l), Oktoberfest/Marzen (21.5 mg/l), Russian Imperial Stout (21.3 mg/l), Kolsch (24.9 mg/l), American Porter (28.5 mg/l), and Dunkelweizen (98.2 mg/l) within this range. Ten of the twenty-eight (34%) beers contained less gluten than the guidelines established by Codex Alimentarius Standard (20 ppm gluten). The calculation of gluten is based on the assumption of a 1:1 ratio between gliadin and glutenin.