Zwickelbier or Kellerbier is a special type of beer which is unfiltered/naturally cloudy and not pasteurised. The term Zwickl or Zwickel comes from the sample of the beer the brewmaster was taken from the barrel with a special tap in earlier times. Zwicklbier is refreshing, less bitter and very quaffable. It’s a seasonal beer and best enjoyed in summer fresh from the barrel in a German Biergarten.
As the beer is not filtered I assumed already that it could contain higher gluten concentration than filtered beers and yes the gluten test was positive. Low positive but still positive. Although the beer was quite nice.
Beer: Hofbrau Sommerzwickl
Producer: Hofbrau Munich
Originating country: Germany
Brewing location: Germany
Bottle size: 0.5 l
Alcohol by volume: 5.1%
Ingredients: water, barley malt, hops, yeast
Miscellaneous: –
Test Kit: Imutest Gluten-in-Food Kit
Test result: There is a visible pink test spot on the left of the test area ( T ) which indicates the presence of gluten. According to the instructions a “very low gluten” level of 20 to 100 ppm should give a test spot which is weaker or similar in intensity to that of the control spot ( C ). Please find some more information here. The test spot is quite faint.
On a scale from 1 to 20 I would rate the test spot intensity 1/2 so in this test the level is below 20 ppm. Even though this test is positive please note it is not a medical advice – see my facts page.
Steffen
…forgot to mention I had no noticeable reaction after having two of these beers in one evening despite the positive test result.
Kevin
Flying into Germany from Boston on 1 June for polterabbend and wedding. The area I am going to is where my daughter lives in gelnhausen hochst Germany and most places there have krombacher, which I have had no problem with. I am worried that at the polterabbend or the wedding there may be a beer that is not on your test results and at that point I don’t know what to do. What are your thoughts on that.
Steffen
Hi Kevin, Welcome to Germany – enjoy the wedding and party! Well, most likely you will get draft beer there which I haven’t tested much. But in general the German mainstream beers are rather safe (like Krombacher, Warsteiner, Beck’s etc.). The brewing process and filtration process for draft should be more less the same as for bottled beer. But of course be careful and maybe have a glass on wine after beer. But drink wine after you had beer. There is a German saying “Bier auf Wein, das lass sein – Wein auf Bier, das rat ich dir.”
Cheers Steffen