Asahi Super Dry Beer: Not Quite Gluten-Free

I was holding out hope that Asahi Super Dry might test negative for gluten, as Corona apparently has, but no such luck.  It does, however appear to be very low in gluten, as evidenced by the very faint pink test spot on the left.

This bottle of Asahi Super Dry was purchased and tested (and later poured out) in Japan.  The testing kit is the Imutest Gluten-in-Food test.  Imutest claims it is sensitive down to 1-2 ppm for gluten, including hordein, the gluten present in barley.  The folks at Imutest unofficially estimated that the gluten content of this beer is “probably less than 1 ppm,” provided I conducted the test properly.

Less than 1 ppm… that’s pretty low, considering that “gluten-free” beers generally need to be 20 ppm or less.  Maybe I can have one or two of these once in a while.

HOWEVER, after some research and discussion, I've learned that this style of gluten testing, known as a sandwich ELISA test, is not as reliable as a competitive ELISA test, which must be done in a laboratory.  I was told by Emily at Emport (US distributors of the GlutenTox testing kits) that "malting and fermenting can break apart the gluten protein in unpredictable ways."  The folks at Imutest also advised me against using their testing kits to estimate gluten content.

THEREFORE, these test results may or may not be accurate.  Perhaps if enough people test this beer, we'll get a better idea of its gluten content.  If you do decide to test it, please leave a comment here.

NOTE: This test result was for Asahi Super Dry that was produced in Japan.  Versions of Super Dry brewed elsewhere may or may not provide the same result, due to differences in ingredients, filtering, etc.

Asahi Dry Zero Tests Gluten-Free

One of the hardest parts of going gluten-free was giving up beer.  I looked into various options, and I found that there are a few non-alcoholic “beers” that don’t list barley or malt as ingredients: Asahi Dry Zero, Sapporo+, and Kirin Perfect Free.  Of these, Asahi Dry Zero is the most popular, and it’s available at many bars and restaurants (including my favorite karaoke box).

I also discovered Polos Spirytus Rektyfikowany (スピリタス in Japanese), which is a Polish spirit similar to Everclear.  It’s 192 proof (96% alcohol).  If I want to go out and have a few beers, I fill some little soy sauce bottles with Spirytus and put them in my pocket.  One 13ml bottle, mixed with one 350ml can or bottle of non-alcoholic beer, will produce a mixture with an alcohol content (by volume) of about 3.5% (as opposed to 5% for a standard Japanese beer).  Of course, I can add more if I want to.  I even found a neat little page that will do the calculations for me, so I know how much I’m drinking.

After a little more research, I discovered a useful blog at lowgluten.org.  It’s written by a German guy named Steffen, who tests various beers for gluten content.  It inspired me to test a few myself, and Asahi Dry Zero was the first one that I tested.  I used the Gluten-in-Food test kit from Imutest, which claims to detect gluten levels down to 20 ppm in food, and down to an amazing 1-2 ppm in liquids.

The test did not detect any gluten.  Hooray!  I plan to test several more beers and related beverages, like Kirin Hard Cidre.  I’ve also heard that the original Nodogoshi is made with soy protein, rather than barley, so that’s next on my list.

McDonald's

Rice "buns"

I recently took my daughter to McDonald’s.  I’d been gluten-free for only about a month, and I’d read that their french fries are cooked in a separate fryer from breaded items like Chicken McNuggets, so I figured those would be safe.  In my jacket, I had also hidden a homemade bun made from rice flour.

I was planning to put a QP on one of these

When I ordered, the young woman at the register was very confused by my order.  I didn’t think it was a language barrier issue, because I can usually make myself understood, and my daughter (born and raised in Japan) was standing right next to me.  Anyway, the manager was summoned, and she told me I could in fact get sliced onions on the burger.

Onions?  I explained my situation again, and ordered my burger, with…

No bun. バンズぬき。banzu nuki.

I don’t need/want the bun. バンズいらない。 banzu iranai.

I can’t eat bread, so just the hamburger. パンを食べれないから、ハンバーガーだけ。 pan-o taberenai kara, hanbaagaa dake.

The manager took a moment to think, and then told me,
This is a hamburger restaurant.  If I don’t put it on a bun, it’s not a hamburger.

I was a little sad, a little shocked, and a little ticked off.  We left, and haven’t been back since.  I suspect that another manager might’ve been a little more open-minded.  I also probably could’ve explained myself a little better (パンを食べれない literally means I can’t eat bread, but in everyday Japanese, I think it’s usually taken to mean I don’t like bread).  And finally, special requests just seem to be frowned upon in Japanese society.  Anyone who’s lived in Japan, even for a short while, has probably heard the phrase 出る釘は打たれる, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down.  Instead of Yes, we can, you’re more likely to hear No, we can’t.

I’ll probably go back to McDonald’s someday and try again, but it won’t be anytime soon, and definitely not until they figure out how to get their Android app to work on all phones.  It doesn’t even start on my phone!  In the meantime, I’ll go to Mos Burger (read about my experience with the “allergy burger” in a future post) Hamazushi (but I’ll bring my own soy sauce). 

I should mention that I have been to Costco twice, and haven’t had a problem (just a few quizzical looks) when ordering a hot dog without a bun.  I’ve also brought homemade GF bread to eat it with.  Next time, I might try some cornbread.

Here We Go!

Welcome to Gluten-Free in Japan!  I'm an American man in my late 40s.  I've been in Japan since 1999, and decided to go GF for medical reasons in November, 2016.  And wow, is it a challenge.

There's no shortage of information about GF lifestyles on the Web, but there's not a whole lot out there for those of us in Japan, and only a tiny fraction of that information is in English.  I've created this blog to share my successes and failures, discoveries and humiliations, and every experience in between, in hopes that they'll help someone else down the road.

I like to cook, and I like beer, so my posts are probably going to gravitate towards those topics.  Anyway, thanks for visiting, and I hope you find something useful!

And thanks to Tomoko for her love and support. ❤