If you like Japanese food and want a beer to your Sushi or Donburi in your favourite Japanese restaurant then this test is for you. But not only outside Japan this test might be useful for people with Celiac Disease. The number of affected people seems to increase also in Japan. I found some interesting sites about the rise of gluten intolerance and a gluten-free guide for Japan. Enjoy a Asahi when you read this.
Beer: Asahi
Producer: Asahi Beer K.K. / アサヒビール株式会社
Originating country: Japan
Brewing location: UK
Bottle size: 330 ml = approx. 12 Oz.
Alcohol by volume: 5.0%
Ingredients: water, barley malt, maize, hops, rice
Miscellaneous: Brewed in the UK but says ‘Product of CZ’ on the label
Test Kit: GlutenTox Home Kit
I tested with a threshold of 5 ppm. The limit of detection depends on the number of drops taken from the extraction solution, please find some more information here.
Test result: There is no indication of the presence of gluten above 5 ppm. According to the instructions there should appear a clearly visible red test line on the right of the test area ( T ) to indicate the presence of gluten. The blue line on the left test area ( C ) is a control line and indicates that the extract/sample is suitable, the test has been performed correctly and all reagents are active. Please don’t take any of my test results as a medical advice – see my facts page.
Les Carter from Australia
Just bought a six pack of Asahi 500 ml cans, Made in Japan, 5% ABV. So here’s hoping it is ok for me. There is also a 3.5% ABV Asahi made, in Australia I believe., bit wary of that one, anyone tried it?
Les Carter from Australia
Well, had the can of Asahi Super Dry, smooth, tasty, good head. Certainly to my palate and no ill effects on my Coeliac gut. I got a couple of the nice Asahi frosted glasses, gratis too, the ice cold 500 ml can goes well with the glasses, glass and a half, lubbly jubbly.
6 x 500ml cans @ $25 the six pack, a little pricey.
Adam, Adelaide, Australia
G’day Steffen and Les!
Well, Les, that was risky drinking effectively a different make of Asahi Super Dry. At least you’re okay and I’ll have confidence in trying the same one too.
Apparently the same beer in 330mL bottles, here in Australia, is brewed in China!
And the other Asahi you mentioned, Asahi Soukai, is brewed in Australia as you mentioned Les.
There’s another Asahi, Asahi Super Dry Black, 5.5% alcohol in 334mL bottles, brewed in Japan. It’s a dark beer, but without any tests I would be scared to try it..
Adam, Adelaide, Australia
Also, Les, Carlton Pure Blonde is a safe beer for us Coeliacs in Australia. Their website even tells you that their gluten count is about ten parts per million, but that doesn’t meet Australia’s strict five parts per million.
Anyway I’ve had a number of them and they seem fine. Just the taste is a bit bland!
Les Carter from Australia
I have heard about the Carlton Low Carb Pure Blonde being ok for some Coeliacs, but as you say an ordinary drink, might give it a go though. 10 parts per million should be ok.
Cheers.
Les Carter from Australia
Just bought a six pack of the Carlton Ultra low carb, give it a try. You have to be careful there are a couple of Carlton Pure Blondes.
Les Carter from Australia
Adam, you need to get the Carlton Pure Blonde Ultra Low Carbohydrate Lager, not the normal one. Carlton does advertise it on its site as ‘Low Gluten,’ but could see any levels. The bottle does not carry any low gluten message, as you say probably because it is 10 parts per million. Just drinkable, but must be icy cold on a hot day, good head and gas, which I like in a beer. I only bought a six pack, but will invest in a carton, albeit $46 at Liquorland.
Cheers, Les.
Les Carter from Australia
Hi Adam, yes, one needs to check country of brewing for sure. I only have 1x 500ml can twice a week.
Howard Digby
Hahn ultra crisp too . Gluten free rice beer – also zero carb and no sugar. Best of all – yummy !
Steffen
Hi Howard, this one looks really great. Does it taste like “real” beer? I wouldn’t expect a malty flavour but if the rest is OK then it could be an option. The ones made from sorghum are not so nice in my eyes.
Cheers Steffen
Dave
Best not to put them in your eyes then Steffen!
Steffen
😉
Lester
Sorry Howard, tried it and don’t like it. No head at all and tastes ordinary. Bit watery, but probably better than no beer at all. Thanks for your post.
Les Carter from Australia
Look at this http://www.stpetersbrewery.co.uk
They make a lovely gf beer in a nice bottle, I had some a few months ago in England, not seen it in Australia. Anybody seen it/tried it?
Steffen
Hi Les, thanks for the information about St.Peters beer. I will request some more information about how they reduce/eliminate the gluten. Cheers Steffen
Adam, Adelaide, Australia
Yes I have had St. Peter’s gluten free beers before.
The bottles are really quite nice.
But I found them to be lacking in flavour and really a bit boring.
And they would have to be the most expensive gluten free beers I have ever bought.
So really not worth it (for me).
Here in Australia I think O’Briens do some good beers (their Pilsner and their Belgian Ale are personal favourites).
Cheers.
Les Carter from Australia
Hi Adam, I had the St.Peters GF on board Aurora cruise ship, UK to USA/Canada. From memory it was £3.50 per 500 ml bottle. That is about AU$7. I did not mind it, but preferred the cider like Strongbow/Magners.
Les Carter from Australia
I tried the 500ml cans of Asahi Super Dry produced in Japan, no problems, no ill effects. Last night tried a 330ml bottle of the Asahi Super Dry produced in China, not quite as nice as the Jap one, but no ill effect, although only had 1. Seems Asahi is brewing in a few countries, Japan, China, UK, Australia, where else?
Ashton Clarke
If a beer contains barley and malt not sure how it can be gluten free. Low in gluten yes, but that doesn’t make it safe for Coeliacs to drink. Malt is usually made from barley. It can also be made from corn. Which is in the Asahi?? My mail, reportedly from the website says:
“The malted barley we use for SUPER DRY is selected strictly in compliance with more than a hundred criteria we have set for this ingredient…”
The FDA say Corona measures under 20ppm for gluten and this makes the beer gluten free. Again brewed with barley?
Who would know ? But not sure I want to risk any nasty surprises later on??
Steffen
Hi Ashton, good point. Everyone has the right to decide. I decided to live with low gluten beers but if you believe this is too risky then just stay away from barley containing beers. If you react severly on gluten don’t even drink low gluten beers.
I am fine with these beers and to avoid nasty surprises I regularly see my doctor (who treats a lot of Celiacs and is aware I drink regular beer). My last blood test and intestinal biopsy were OK. No atrophy of the villi and no increase of intraepithelial T-lymphocytes. This is evidence for me that I am doing right. But it is no advice for others to do so.
Cheers Steffen
big in japan
About two weeks ago, I discovered that Asahi Dry Zero, a non-alcoholic beer, seemed to be gluten-free, based on the ingredients listed on the can (dietary fiber, soy peptide, hop, flavoring, acidulant, caramel color, antioxidants (vitamin C), sweetener (acesulfame K) — translation by Google).
I may lose my membership in the beer drinker’s club for doing this, but I’ve tried adding 15-20ml of Polmos Spirytus Rektyfikowany (96% alcohol) to a 350ml can of Dry Zero, and the resulting drink is… well… drinkable. I’ve tried this three times, between 6-10 “beers” each session, and not only didn’t notice any stomach distress, but also had a much less severe hangover the following day.
Fortunately, Dry Zero is the most popular non-alcoholic beer in Japan, it seems, so it’s widely available in restaurants and bars. I just bring a few 15ml plastic bottles (meant for soy sauce), and I can enjoy a few beers with my friends. It’s a viable solution for me.
I just wonder if Dry Zero truly is gluten-free. I asked a question on Amazon, and the seller contacted Asahi, who apparently said they hadn’t tested it. I don’t imagine it’s available in Germany?
Steffen
Hi big in japan, interesting. The aim of this site is not only to test alcohol containing beers. There is a huge demand also here in Germany for non-alcoholic beers. Mainly when you got out and have to drive non-alcoholic drinks make much sense. I also thought about testing a famous non-alcoholic beer here in Germany which in addition tastes of beer: Clausthaler. But every big brand (Beck’s, Warsteiner, Bitburger etc.) now sell their own non-alcoholic beer and the taste get’s better with competition.
Asahi Dry Zero isn’t available here so I am not sure about the gluten concentration. If you don’t react then you can probably cope with it. But don’t push it.
Cheers Steffen
big in japan
I’m still doing really well with the Asahi Dry Zero and Spirytus Rektyfikowany. But today, after reading some of your test reports more thoroughly, I decided to order a 5-pack of the Imutest kits, and I’m hoping to contribute a few reports soon.
I was concerned about whether commercially-available home testing kits would detect hordein, which as you know is the gluten found in barley. I was assured by both Imutest’s CEO and technical adviser that it would in fact detect barley. I believe this topic came up in one of your Beck’s reports.
Anyway, I’m looking forward to testing a few beers myself! I think I’ve already decided on 4 of the 5. My question to you is: when you were first starting out, did you have any invalid tests? I’m wondering if I should expect one or two of my first attempts to fail.
Steffen
Hi big in japan, thanks for the feedback. Good to see you are doing well with your funny mix. I would be happy if you could contribute with your test results when you get the kits. The more information we can share here the better it is for all people out there who also suffer from gluten.
I agree that it takes time to find trust in the kits and before I started this website I tried to verify all information about the kits the best I can. After a couple of years of testing now I am convinced that the kits are reliable.
From all test kits I only had a problem with one unit all the years. And here it returned a result and also the control spot was active but all looked very weak so I decided to not post the result. Maybe the kit was too old already I don’t know but it happened only once.
Looking forward to see your tests and test results.
Cheers Steffen
Esther
Did you get the test results for the Asahi dry zero? Cheers! ?
Steffen
Hi Esther, yes it was tested a while ago by Big in Japan, here you go: http://www.lowgluten.org/asahi-dry-zero/
Cheers Steffen
Oata
Hi guys
I’m a fully fledged coeliac and can drink Corona and Pure Blonde till the cows come home with absolutely zero effect. I also eat oats for breakfast everyday with zero effect.
No it’s not ticked off as okay in Australia … All about choice and enjoying life
Nifty
Have you tested Kingfisher beer ? I’ve seen somewhere that it is very low gluten
Steffen
Sure, here you go: http://www.lowgluten.org/kingfisher-gluten-test/
Jared
You are basically rolling dice with your health. Current gluten tests are not suitable for the gluten proteins in beer. Some could be fine, but nobody knows: https://www.forbes.com/sites/samlemonick/2017/11/01/a-new-test-to-make-sure-your-beer-is-gluten-free/
Gary C
Sitting in the Delta Sky Club in Tokyo, Asahi Super Dry on tap. Going to have to give it a try and see how sensitive I am to it.
Merry Christmas!
tracy
it contains barley malt which cant be properly tested so not gf