Brewing with Ceoliac Disease

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GFHomebrew

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Yup I've had some crap info come my way over the last few days it's not confirmed yet but I'v most likely got Coeliac Disease.

Sux right?!

Yeah I've had a rough year health wise with two boughts of Diahorea one recently which spured me to action and to go and get myself checked out.

You know I thought it was something to do with my Hombrew beer!
Yeah I was thinking ah man I've had some dodgey bug in my beer or consumed to much yeast ect ect.

Also been getting mouth ulser I thought shoit my beer is so acidic ive had some crazy intergestian. I've been really hitting the doubters sorta going crazy thinking WTF is going on!

Well it's not my dodgey HB only the opposite.
My blood results come back and the DR wanted to see me right away!
I thought oh no don't tell me? Well not that bad, but he said mate I've never seen Iron levels as low as you've got near emergency iron infusion Territory! Ive actually booked in to get one in a few days and I'll probably need two!

Yeah he broke it to me that I've most likely got Ceoliac Disease an Auto Immune Disease where the body produces Anti bodies in response to the protine in gluten and they attack the lining of the small intestine.
He said I've gone undiagnosed for some time going by my ultra low Iron Levels.

Why am I telling you all my "imaginary friends"?

Well barley contains gluten
Rye contains gluten
Wheat the same
This yet to be confirmed Diagnosis means I can no longer consume any gluten products as its killing me.

And that for one of Us (hombrewers) means giving up my beloved malted barley wheat rye ect ect!
I'm still coming to terms with it!:eek:

Anyone that is apart of this forum or outside friends and family know me oh that's Ben the Homebrewer it's a massive part of who I am these days it's my every day obsession!

Anyhow 1st anyone on Here who maybe feeling really flat no energy um or crook in the tummy I'm telling you you may have undiagnosed Gluten intolerance get a blood test it'll pick it up.

2nd
I know this doesn't mean I cant Hombrew anymore.
CIDER MEAD WINE these are gluten free.
SELTZER I believe is gluten free Koombucha also.

But there is also gluten free grains

So
oats
Rice
Sorghum
Millet or corn
Buckwheat
These I've seen some can me malted (oats and Sorghum)
There would be Amylase Enzymes I can add in the mash to do the conversions for me maybe I can still produce a sorta traditional beers with hops ect if I use my brewing knowledge.

There's also invert sugars that I know can give that caramel sorta malt complexity...

Any Fellow Ceoliac hombrewers on here?
What do you know about brewing with Ceoliac and hombrewing?

I'd love to know ?
Cheers
 
Good luck with the changes.

A bloke I went to school with set up a gluten free brewery down here. He had a similar story as yours. Had a few symptoms, but not enough to get it checked out. It was found in a routine checkup.

More importantly, he's retailing the grains they use - https://www.twobays.beer/collections/malts. The beers are pretty good too if you see them around.
 
Ben...sorry to hear this. Very glad that you (maybe) have it all figured out though. Your well-being - for you and your family - is most important.

But I'm sure that if anyone can overcome this and keep on brewing it's you! I found this, though you probably have seen it already.
Gluten Free Beer Recipe Search. . (glutenfreehomebrewing.com)

I'm sure this community will be happy to help as much as possible on your journey. All the best!
 
Megary said:
Ben...sorry to hear this. Very glad that you (maybe) have it all figured out though. Your well-being - for you and your family - is most important.

But I'm sure that if anyone can overcome this and keep on brewing it's you! I found this, though you probably have seen it already.
Gluten Free Beer Recipe Search. . (glutenfreehomebrewing.com)

I'm sure this community will be happy to help as much as possible on your journey. All the best!
Click to expand...
Cheers Megary for the link I'll check it out.

@Mark Farrall will check out this link as well.

Cheers thankyou for your well wishes.

It's gunna take some adjusting...
 
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Sorry to hear that. My wife was recently diagnosed with a thyroid issue whereby she has to, at the very least, reduce her gluten intake significantly. Not as serious as as celiac, but still a cause for a change. Because of this, I purchased a GF Porter kit, which is currently fermenting. In addition to the website @Mark Farrall provided, maybe there’s a source in your neck of the woods that provides something similar? We’re currently experimenting with different ideas to see what works for her. I do plan on getting into wine making down the road.
 
Sorry to here the news. Hopefully you will be able to use the many gluten free recipes that are already out there.
 
It's good to hear that you have a diagnosis so you can make some changes and feel better. I have a friend with Ceilac's disease and I brewed a cream ale for him and used White Labs Clarity Ferm. They say it reduces the gluten content below 20 ppm. So gluten reduced and not free. He knew that would work for him since he's been dealing with it for a long time and was thrilled to have a real ale that didn't cause any problems. However, I know some have stated that it could still cause a reaction that didn't cause symptoms. You'll have to look into that. Anyway it's an option. You can find more info at White Labs site. Here's a link to one article: https://www.whitelabs.com/news-update-detail?id=55 (CLARITY FERM AND PRODUCING GLUTEN REDUCED BEERS)
 
Dammit, I'm sorry, that news sucks. But you seem to have the right attitude to work around this. Wine, cider, mead, seltzer, etc. Lots of GF options for beer. Plenty of recipes and tech advice online, and even a new book devoted to the subject.
 
Glad you got answers to feel better! Good luck with the iron treatments you mentioned. Get well and get your ass brewing something GF :)
 
Ben, I’m sorry to learn of your condition. I know there are gluten free beers on the market, so hopefully you’ll find a way to keep brewing. We need your humor and wisdom around here, as well as your exploratory spirit.
Most of all, keep yourself healthy, mate.
 
That is awful, but I am glad you are trying to get it worked out.
This may sound stupid, but have you tried contacting some of the other malt companies for options? I know that a few of the breweries down here get their malt from Riverbend in North Carolina. I thought they also had a retail store. Maybe somebody a little bit smaller might have some other options?
 
FrostyBeach said:
It's good to hear that you have a diagnosis so you can make some changes and feel better. I have a friend with Ceilac's disease and I brewed a cream ale for him and used White Labs Clarity Ferm. They say it reduces the gluten content below 20 ppm. So gluten reduced and not free. He knew that would work for him since he's been dealing with it for a long time and was thrilled to have a real ale that didn't cause any problems. However, I know some have stated that it could still cause a reaction that didn't cause symptoms. You'll have to look into that. Anyway it's an option. You can find more info at White Labs site. Here's a link to one article: https://www.whitelabs.com/news-update-detail?id=55 (CLARITY FERM AND PRODUCING GLUTEN REDUCED BEERS)
Click to expand...
Will check it out.
Yeah just listened to this from experimental brewing https://open.spotify.com/episode/3q...zGQZ2lNSfMz9CMCg&utm_source=native-share-menu

Old mate said the clarity ferm works but doesn't cut it out completely also something about (polyphenols?) or something as a reaction to the clarity ferm that in some people had a negative affect.
 
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Herm brews said:
Ben, I’m sorry to learn of your condition. I know there are gluten free beers on the market, so hopefully you’ll find a way to keep brewing. We need your humor and wisdom around here, as well as your exploratory spirit.
Most of all, keep yourself healthy, mate.
Click to expand...
Oh man don't it suck when the thing you love is actually killing you:p!
 
Sandy Feet said:
That is awful, but I am glad you are trying to get it worked out.
This may sound stupid, but have you tried contacting some of the other malt companies for options? I know that a few of the breweries down here get their malt from Riverbend in North Carolina. I thought they also had a retail store. Maybe somebody a little bit smaller might have some other options?
Click to expand...
I know one HB near me stocks malted Sorghum but it's out of stock.
Will have a looks around.
 
Mark Farrall said:
Good luck with the changes.

A bloke I went to school with set up a gluten free brewery down here. He had a similar story as yours. Had a few symptoms, but not enough to get it checked out. It was found in a routine checkup.

More importantly, he's retailing the grains they use - https://www.twobays.beer/collections/malts. The beers are pretty good too if you see them around.
Click to expand...

Wow that malt is exy $16/kg :eek:
 
Sorry to hear that Ben.
Make sure to get yourself checked out proper!
Maybe 2nd opinion as well.
2 of my friends were gluten i tolerant (and actually the only ones I know with this). Both were apparently diagnosed wrong.
Not saying it's so in your case, but just make sure.

Besides that, there is cider, rice beer etc
Maybe time to look for a recipe for chibukubuku (local beer here, made from sorghum)

And don't leave us and eat lots of spinach!
 
Zambezi Special said:
Sorry to hear that Ben.
Make sure to get yourself checked out proper!
Maybe 2nd opinion as well.
2 of my friends were gluten i tolerant (and actually the only ones I know with this). Both were apparently diagnosed wrong.
Not saying it's so in your case, but just make sure.

Besides that, there is cider, rice beer etc
Maybe time to look for a recipe for chibukubuku (local beer here, made from sorghum)

And don't leave us and eat lots of spinach!
Click to expand...
Yeah I hear quite alot of commercial beer In South Africa is brewed with Sorgum even reference to Guinness brewed with part of the grist malted Sorghum as per that podcast I listened to today.

Na I'm going nowhere it'll take more than gluten for me to give up this hobby.

Like yeast I've gotta adapt to my brewing environment and continue on.

Yup I'll be getting a tube down my throat in the next few weeks A so they can look at the stomach lining and B to take some samples to analyse for them Anti bodies that ATTACH the stomach lining In the Auto Immune response to the Gluten Protine.

The Dr I'm seeing actually started his medical career after he himself was diagnosed with Ceoliac Disease so I'll be able to ask him how he goes about his food and such.
 
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