On their website the details in regards to the beer’s ingredients appear pretty sparse, at last look, the only details that could be located were that it is a lager with a 4.8% ABV. No details in regards to the gluten content could be found as such we have had to do our own research to answer the question of is Pabst Blue Ribbon Gluten Free. The following are our findings…
Is Pabst Blue Ribbon Gluten Free?
Is Pabst Blue Ribbon gluten free? Unfortunately, the answer is no it is not gluten-free because it is brewed using barely as one of its ingredients, which contains gluten. For people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance, this means that Pabst Blue Ribbon could cause them problems.
Now having said this, the FDA advises that any beer, that has less than 20 ppm of gluten in it can be labeled as gluten-free beer. As we will discuss there have been independent tests done indicating that Pabst Blue Ribbon has less than 20 ppm of gluten and as such could be labeled as gluten-free. We will share the results of this test, but people with concerns over gluten should still proceed with caution because in our opinion stating something is gluten-free when it clearly contains gluten even in trace amounts is misleading and should rather be referred to as gluten-reduced.
Pabst Blue Ribbon Ingredients
It is reported that Pabst Blue Ribbon is brewed with a blend of malted barley believed to be a mix of two-row and six-row barley, both of which contain gluten. The remaining ingredients are water, yeast, and hops which are gluten-free. A special blend of corn syrup made from sugars like maltose and dextrose as well as carbohydrates also reportedly makes up part of its ingredient list.
Where PBR is a lager it is fermented with bottom-fermenting lager yeast and is lagered which simply means it is allowed to cold-age at temperatures just above freezing. These processes allow the beer to mellow and develop resulting in its clean, clear, and crisp flavor.
How Much Gluten is in Pabst Blue Ribbon
While the beer is brewed without the use of wheat it does contain barley and as such, there is gluten present in this beer, however, the two independent tests we have reviewed both indicate that it has under 20 ppm of gluten. One of the tests indicates that it is very low on the scale coming in at under 2 ppm and the other test simply indicates that their results show that it comes in at under 20 ppm gluten.
In our opinion, there is no way to know the exact amount of gluten present in Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, and people with gluten problems should be very cautious. However, these tests are promising and seem to indicate that people with celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity could safely drink Pabst Blue Ribbon beer without worrying about adverse effects.
However, it is worth noting that we have no way of verifying this information or the accuracy of these tests and people with these conditions may still experience discomfort after drinking PBR, so it is always recommended not to take these independent test results as fact and you should consult with a physician before consuming any alcohol or food products if you have any concerns.
Last Call
So is Pabst Blue Ribbon gluten free? No, it is not, it can not be as it is brewed using barley as part of its ingredients. However, as a result of the independent tests we reviewed, it could be considered gluten-reduced, however, as always people with concerns over gluten should proceed with caution.
P.S. If you want to brew your own gluten-reduced beer, it is simply a matter of adding an enzyme called clarity ferm to the beer when making it. To get started be sure to pick up your gift of Big Robb’s top 5 favorite beer recipes from his brewpub, details are on the side of the blog or at the bottom if you are on your phone. Cheers!