We brew Stone Delicious IPA, Stone Delicious Double IPA & Stone Delicious Citrus IPA to be gluten reduced without losing any of what makes it amazing. We do it with an innovative fermenting process that removes the gluten. It’s so effective that our gluten levels are below the FDA requirement for gluten free (less than 20 parts per million). But, since the beer is brewed with barley as an ingredient, it technically doesn't get the FDA title of “gluten free” and instead qualifies as “gluten reduced” (sometimes referred to as "gluten removed.") Keep reading to learn even more.
Gluten Content in Bottles and Cans
Before packaging, we carefully clean and sanitize every tank, pipeline, hose and piece of equipment that Stone Delicious IPA will touch. Based on our Current Good Manufacturing Practices and Gluten Control Plan, we guarantee that our gluten-reduced and gluten-free products contain less than 20 ppm gluten, which is in compliance with the allowable levels set forth by the US FDA, the Canadian and EU Food Safety Agencies.
Gluten Content on Draft
Unfortunately, we can't make claims about the gluten content of this beer when served on draft. While the beer in the keg is the same as the beer in the bottles, there is always the chance that it could mix with previously served beers in the lines of the draft system and, thus, pick up gluten along the way.
A special enzyme known as Clarex is what makes Stone Delicious IPA possible. We start by brewing the beer exactly like we do every other beer at our brewery, using all-natural ingredients (barley, hops, water and yeast) with dashes of creativity and heart plus a boatload of hops. When boiled wort (unfermented beer) is transferred to fermentation tanks where yeast is introduced to convert fermentable sugars to alcohol, we add Clarex, which separates and eliminates the potentially inflammatory nature of the gluten protein chains.
Though we’ve harnessed modern advances to significantly reduce the amount of gluten, traces of gluten remain in Stone Delicious IPA. However, the amount of gluten in this beer is far below the Codex threshold of less than 20 parts per million in total gluten for “gluten-free” products. Furthermore, the brewing process for Stone Delicious IPA renders the beer free of barley epitopes (peptide sequences and reactive sites in gluten molecules triggering negative reactions in the small intestine).
The FDA requires that products marked “gluten free” have a gluten content of less than 20 parts per million. Stone Delicious IPA meets that requirement.
However, the FDA also requires that anything marked “gluten free” cannot contain any wheat, rye or barley. Our beers are made with barley and the gluten is removed using a special enzyme. Even though the gluten content is under the 20 parts per million threshold, we are not permitted to refer to it as “gluten free.” Instead, the FDA qualifies these beers as “gluten reduced.”
Long story short: even though the gluten content of this beer is below the “gluten free” threshold, they are classified as “gluten reduced” by the FDA by nature of its ingredients.
We take numerous, specific steps to ensure there is no cross-contamination in our brewing or packaging facilities. We carefully clean and sanitize every tank, pipeline, hose and piece of equipment that Stone Delicious IPA will touch.
No. We do not replace the barley malt we use for our other beers with rice, quinoa, sorghum, buckwheat or any other grains.
While the beer in the keg is the same as the beer in the bottles, there is always the chance that it could mix with previously served beers in the lines of the draft system and, thus, become intermingled with beer containing gluten. To be safe and ensure the health of those with greater gluten sensitivity, we similarly do not make the gluten-reduced claim for Stone Delicious IPA served from draft systems and growler fill stations at Stone-operated facilities. It is best to purchase our gluten-reduced beers in bottles or cans if you are gluten sensitive.
We currently have one gluten-reduced beer in market, Stone Delicious IPA. But hey, its pretty damn good. So entirely possible we brew more in the future.
Enjoy by dates are printed on the neck of each bottle, and julian dates are laser engraved or printed near the bottom of the bottle. Note that bottles coming out of our Richmond brewery and our Escondido brewery are slightly different, and help identify where that beer came from. Julian dates can be difficult to see, so it may be helpful to look at the bottle under a light or shining a light through the bottle.
Information including enjoy by date, bottled on date, and which brewery bottled the beer can be found on the bottle's shoulder.
The julian date can be found near the bottom of the bottle. It can be helpful to look closely at the bottle under direct light to help find it.