Maltless Beer?

[eschmitt]

So I'm allergic to beer! This really sucks because I really like good beer and its a big thing for me. So I'm working on ways around it. Im trying to find out what it is in beer im allergic to. My allergist thinks its the sulfites (preservatives) but I've made a few homebrews and react to those as well (and assume there are no sulfites in those). Anyway, my question is in order to screen out malt, has anyone heard of a maltless beer? Sounds wierd but if it exists please let me know what its called and where to find it. Thanks!

Any other tips from other people would be much appreciated. I've looked it up and its actually more common than I thought.

[BigEd]

Even crappy commercial beer doesn't have sulphites. It is "preserved" with Pasteurization or sterile filtering. I'm no doctor and I don't even play one on television but the vast majority of beer allergy questions and complaints I've seen stem from gluten allergies. Both barley, the main grain in most beer, and wheat have gluten. If this turns out to be your problem you can search here and on other beer forums for commercial products and homebrew recipes. The ones I have seen are using sorghum syrup as the base fermentable as that grain does not contain gluten. Anheuser-Busch is supposed to be marketing a gluten-free beer.

[barleyburps]

Some people are allergic to the glutens in malt in yeast. . .There are a few breweries nowadays producing gluten free beer. The only one I've had thus far is
Bard's Tale Beer . . . which in my opinion is a little too sweetish for me.

It's made from sorghum as opposed to the usual grains. . ..

[ratman03]

There are no sulfites or preservatives in real craft beer. Assuming the style is traditional (not spiced, Belgian style, or other less common style) there are only 4 ingredients (water, malted barley, hops, yeast).

Can you eat other food with yeast and barley or wheat?

[HogieWan]

does bread give you problems?

[HarkJohnny]

yup, definately sounds like celiac disease to me.

if so, there are lots of Gluten-Free beers showing up on the market these days.

[Dexter]

What are your symptoms? Look up celiac on webMD and see if they are the same. They are very different from 'typical allergy'. And yes, you should have the same problem with bread.

If not, you might be allergic to something else.

[sundontlie]

I have been having one hell of a time trying to figure out what I'm allergic to also.. all kinds of bread, pasta, and beers make my right eye swell up like a balloon and give me terrible digestive problems. There are some beers that dont give me any problems at all and others that really set me off. For example Chimay Blue has no affect on me, but Killians Red will swell me up like an idiot. Bread is even worse than beer. I have gotten tested for Celiac disease and I do not have it. I have had an endoscopy to sample my stomache tissue lining which is a fool proof test which came back negative. I'm beginning to think it is simply one specific type of wheat or row of malt which is triggering my symptoms. I have had this problem for at least 3-4 years now. I can drink a sip of beer and within seconds my eye puffs out. I have seen 15+ doctors and not one can give me any answers. Guess work in a white coat to its fullest!!!

[sundontlie]

the best Doctors are the ones who say they have never heard of such a thing and dont believe me and think I'm making it up!!! (as i sit in their office with lumps all over my right eyelid)

BECAUSE THAT IS FUN!!

[hertha fever]

personally, the worst problem i´ve had is my nose getting clogged up when i drink certain beers. nothing too bad, just an annoyance.
that being said, iwas working at a bakery here for some time. i noticed reactions when handling certain ingredients. mostly the rye flour and malt extract.
i was told by a doctor that even though i had no problems when i was younger, allergies can develop at any time.
and, there are many types of wheat. although all are called wheat, they differ in many aspects (i.e, gluten content, mineral amount, etc..). it is possible to be allergic to one type of wheat and not the other.
as far as yeast goes, yeast dies at a temp. of around 120 degrees fahrenheit. to bake a bread, the temp. must exceed 120 for an extended period. so if you´re having problems with bread and beer, it´s unlikely from the yeast.
i´m not a doctor, but this is what i learned.
hope it helps.

[eschmitt]

Thanks for all the replies. I've actually looked up pretty much everything you guys said already while trying to find this. It's not celiac disease and I have no reaction to bread or cereal either. So far, the only thing I react to is beer, and this is recent (maybe just the past 3-4 months). It used to be where I would just get stuffy the next day, no big deal, but now I can drink one beer and my nose pretty much drains. Seems to happen with any beer I have. Any other info would be very appreciated! Thanks!

Also, I had no reaction to beer/bakers yeast or hops during the skin test at the allergist. I did have the smallest possible reaction to barley, but again, I eat other things with barley in it and don't notice anything but my reaction to beer is significant. Maybe it's malted barley that really sets it off??

[n0rmann]

There are plenty of Gluten-free beers available -- Red Bridge from Anheuser-Busch is OK. New Grist from Lakefront is decent. Bards Tale's Dragon's gold is terrible. Ramapo Valley Brewing brews a Honey passover ale -- it's sweet as hell. It's almost like a carbonated mead. Toleration from England is pretty good -- it's gets terrible reviews, but I think people are comparing it to a typical English pale ale. It's almost a style on its own. There are also three Belgian gluten-free beers that should be hitting the market pretty soon -- an amber, a dubbel and a tripel. All better than decent.

[HarkJohnny]

Originally posted by eschmitt
Thanks for all the replies. I've actually looked up pretty much everything you guys said already while trying to find this. It's not celiac disease and I have no reaction to bread or cereal either. So far, the only thing I react to is beer, and this is recent (maybe just the past 3-4 months). It used to be where I would just get stuffy the next day, no big deal, but now I can drink one beer and my nose pretty much drains. Seems to happen with any beer I have. Any other info would be very appreciated! Thanks!

Also, I had no reaction to beer/bakers yeast or hops during the skin test at the allergist. I did have the smallest possible reaction to barley, but again, I eat other things with barley in it and don't notice anything but my reaction to beer is significant. Maybe it's malted barley that really sets it off??

allergic to alcohol?! :eek:

[Quarkstorm]

There was a beer in my local independant off-licence (in the Uk) that they were geting in specifically for a customer with an allergy, but I'm not sure if it was a gluten or a yeast allergy. I'll ask the next time I'm in.

[eschmitt]

Cool, thatd be great. Let me know if you think to ask.

[michaelmarc]

I am allergic to beer as well. We think we isolated it to malt. Malt in food does not bother me that much since it is never in the same concentration as just drinking beer. I would like to know more about your symptoms and if you found a beer without malt.

[corkybstewart]

Malt is really a process as opposed to a substance. Grain is allowed to germinate, then germination is halted by heating the "malted" grain. If you read the whole thread you'll understand that you are probably allergic to the glutens found in wheat and barley, malted or unmalted. Or if you aren't allergic to other cereal products like bread it may be the hops that affect you. It must really suck to be allergic to beer. And welcome to the site.

[Mill Rat]

I'd check with a doc that'll run a few scratch tests to figure out what it is in beer to which you are allergic. One person who used to nearly obsessively post to this site was allergic to rice. He could drink most macro beers except Bud. Never know for sure until you get the tests done, and once armed with the information you can figure out what likes you and what doesn't.

[maltyapples]

Sounds to me like a good time to get into cider! It's delicious, crisp, and comes in a plethora of styles!