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70 BREWING BEVERAGE INDUSTRIES BUSINESS Beer styles The market for gluten-free beer may still be in its relative infancy but UK brewers could be missing out on a golden opportunity. So believes Malcolm Shipp whose own company Kennet Avon Brewery has two cask products that fulfill the EU definition on what constitutes a gluten-free product. The companys new premises in Melksham is also home to the Gluten Free Beer Store set up by KA to sell bottled - and increasingly canned - gluten free beers to customers nationwide via website ordering and next day delivery. So given its profile in the media whats holding the bulk of the nations brewers back from taking the GF plunge To be honest providing you follow the criteria its not so complicated as you might think Shipp comments. Kennet Avon only moved into its new unit in July 2015 but the company had already forseen the potential for a GF mail order service and had set up the website within weeks. We knew that we needed to cover our costs while we developed the brewing side of the business so creating the online store was the ideal way forward continued Shipp. No one else seemed to have considered doing it so we set about developing contacts with breweries across the country and beyond and steadily built up our stocks. It literally took off overnight. Its been brilliant for us. Customers can order before 1.30pm and receive their consignment the next day whether thats just down the road or in the north of Scotland. Theres a great market out there how long it will last I dont know as more and more breweries see the potential. Malcolm himself has been instrumental in getting other local brewers on board which has been a double-edged sword for KA increasing stock lines in the online store but creating competition for them in local pubs. The company supplies two KA GF cask beers - Crofton IPA and Savernake Stout - into the local free trade market plus its bottled range of beers which are all gluten free. The GF status has given added value to the brands with demand through wholesalers getting them much further afield and beer swaps with other breweries also bringing guest brands into the companys own outlet The Vaults in Devizes. As a new company going gluten-free has certainly been a good move for us concludes Shipp. Its definitely something all ambitious breweries should consider. httpglutenfreebeerstore.co.uk www.kennetandavonbrewery.co.uk So whats gluten-free According to Malcolm Shipp in the UK its a beverage that meets EU regulations in that it contains less than 20 parts per million of gluten. However the lower the better... How do you get rid if the gluten Two main ways of doing that. Either brew with ingredients which dont include gluten in the first place such as rice maize sorgum or millet or brew with traditional products like barley and possibly wheat and then use a gluten-reducing enzyme. Are there any breweries producing with totally GF ingredients There are but they are thinly spread and not in the UK although I have heard that a Scottish brewery is looking into it. How is it tested. The recommendation is that this should be done annually at a UKAS accredited centre. However we prefer to have every batch tested just to be sure. We did have one batch fail but then we decided to do a second test on it as we werent sure if we had tested too early. It came back below ten next time. Are there costs involved in testing. There are and these would have more of an impact on small batch brewers meaning a premium should be added to each bottle. Can a beer be bottle-conditioned and still be classed as GF In theory yes although filtering does have the effect of assisting the removal of the gluten. Can you reliably label your beer as gluten-free in the free trade Yes although where you have no control at the point of dispense - for instance the regular cleaning of beer lines - it can be an issue. Some form of disclaimer might be appropriate such as produced to be gluten-free for example. Can you export your gluten-free beer Yes but note the rules in different countries. In the USA for example beverages where the gluten has been removed should be labelled as gluten- reduced not gluten-free. Make mine a gluten-free... Malcolm Shipp 70_Layout 1 21042016 1538 Page 1