No Grains, No Gluten
Mead has become a popular alcoholic beverage in the Gluten Free community, but there is some misinformation floating around about mead that we need to clear up.
Gluten is a mixture of proteins found in wheat and related grains, such as barley and rye, that gives dough its elasticity and contributes to the structure of baked goods. Gluten-containing grains are also what the beer community uses for brewing.
The base ingredients of mead are honey, water, and yeast…no grain. That means mead is gluten free. In the United States, mead is only made at wineries, which by federal law are unable to use grains in the production.
Grab a flight of gluten free mead at our tasting room!
To clarify some misinformation, some websites state that mead is not gluten free due to the usage of commercial yeasts, which are sometimes grown and packed in a grain-based slurry, which technically can introduce some grain into the finished product. But how much gluten is in that slurry?
The FDA states that a product can be labeled as “Gluten Free” if there are less than 20 parts per million (20ppm), which is approximately less than 0.0032 oz/gallon. The yeast slurry we use tests at 12ppm, which means even prior to dilution into the mead mixture, the slurry is still within bounds of being “Gluten Free.” We dilute that yeast mixture by over 1000x, which would mean our mead has a gluten level at .012ppm, or approximately 0.0000019 oz per gallon.
The other time you will see mention of gluten in wine or mead is the usage of barrels, which can sometimes use a flour paste to help seal the barrel head. Again, the amount of gluten introduced is still beneath the FDA guidelines for “Gluten Free.” At our meadery, the barrels we use are second or third use, meaning any loose paste has likely already been leeched into previous products.
Guaranteed Gluten Free Mead?
Nothing in life is guaranteed, which is why you should verify the meadmaking practices with any producer you buy mead from. In the United States, meaderies are licensed as wineries and wineries are not allowed to use grains. This theoretically means any US-made mead should be gluten free. There are some shady practices out there, however, so you should verify with your mead producer if any products containing gluten have been used.