Clarity Ferm Experiment, by Chris Hamilton (III: Results)

Screen Shot 2014-09-03 at 3.27.53 PMThis is the final installment of the series on the efficacy Clarity Ferm, the enzyme that purports to produce gluten-free beer, from Dr. Chris Hamilton of Hillsdale College. The series began on Wednesday. Yesterday’s installment described the two sets of experiments. In the first, differing amounts of Clarity Ferm were used to treat different aliquots of cream ale. In the second, different mash schedules were used to produce a stout. Clarity Ferm was added to half of the stouts. The idea was to test if a step mash — that contained a “protein rest” — would lower gluten levels by itself or in conjunction with Clarity Ferm. Here are the results. Hear an interview and tasting of samples on Basic Brewing Radio – September 4, 2014.

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Clarity Ferm Experiment, by Chris Hamilton (Part II: Experiments)

This is the second part of a 3-part article, by Chris Hamilton of Hillsdale College, examining experimentally if Clarity Ferm reduces gluten in homebrewed beer. The introduction was posted yesterday and the results will be posted tomorrow. Hear an interview and tasting of samples on Basic Brewing Radio – September 4, 2014.

 

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TheRIDASCREEN® Gliadin competitive kit from R-Biopharm.

The overall goal of these experiments is to determine if Clarity Ferm does indeed reduce the level of gluten and related proteins and peptides to acceptable levels. The first set of experiments was done to determine the amount of Clarity Ferm needed to reduce the gluten to acceptable levels. The second set of experiments was done with a different beer and all trials done in triplicate as the additional variable of differing mash conditions was used to determine if a protein rest would aid in gluten reduction.

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Clarity Ferm Experiment, by Chris Hamilton (Part I: Intro)

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Figure 1: Simplified structures of two peptides. The top peptide is made from three alanines, and on the bottom is the peptide alanine-proline-alanine. The peptide bonds are shown in red.

This is the first part in a 3-part series, written by Chris Hamilton of Hillsdale College. The second and third parts will be posted tomorrow (Thursday) and the next day (Friday). Hear an interview and tasting of samples on Basic Brewing Radio – September 4, 2014.

 

Gluten is a popular topic lately when it comes to food and beer, both due to an increased awareness of Celiac disease and popular diets which eschew any gluten containing food or beverages. Chris Colby wrote the article, Gluten and Brewing, back in November of 2013 that summarizes many of the challenges in brewing a gluten-free beer. The part of gluten and hordein (the barley equivalent of gluten) that can cause problems for some people is the protein gliadin.

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