there is *no* gluten in grain alcohol... herbcraft.org

trigger warning: this is a volatile post about something that isn't volatile.

There is *no* gluten in grain alcohol.

None.

0.0 parts per million.

Even if you made it with wheat. Even if you made it with the creepiest GMO highest gluten wheat ever.

ALL grain alcohol (and vodka) is gluten free. Not just those made from grape or cane or potato or whatever... unless: there was cross contamination after distillation (for example, the inherently gluten free distillate came into contact with some glutinous substance that was in the same space), or there was something added after distillation intentionally (a certain amount of unlabeled ingredients like colorings are allowed to be added to certain alcohols, and others may have a lot of ingredients added for flavor).

Why can there be no gluten in grain alcohol? It has to do with the very process of distillation.

To make spirits, we first create a mash by fermenting some sugar source. For the purpose of our discussion, lets say we're actually using wheat, with lots and lots of gluten in it (though most grain alcohol is made from corn, which doesn't contain actual gluten). After fermentation, the gluten-rich mash is strained from the grains and added to a still... it's the "impure liquid" in the picture above. There are different types of stills with different levels of efficiency, but all stills work by separating volatile compounds from the mash.

ONLY volatile substances that can turn to a gas in the presence of heat can travel from the pot (where the fermented, grainy mash is being distilled) through the condenser of a still and come out as the distillate. Add to this that many spirits are distilled multiple times, and grain alcohol usually several.

Gluten, and gliadins from other grains, are proteins. Proteins are not volatile: they can't turn into gases. Therefore, they simply can't end up in the distillate (just like salt water, when distilled, won't produce water that still has salt in it: salt isn't volatile). Ergo, all liquids, after distillation, are 100% gluten free, unless contaminated after distillation (as noted above)... or maybe someone has discovered volatile proteins recently?

I'm not going to (and I'm not even remotely interested in trying to) convince anyone that they do or do not react to something they say they do. If you react to distilled alcohols made from grains, then you react to them. Don't use them.

But: it's not gluten. There's no gluten there. There can't be.

So we should all (please!) stop talking, and especially stop advertising, about using "gluten free alcohol" in herbal preparations in any way that implies grain alcohol has gluten, simply because there's absolutely no evidence to justify that alcohol made from potatoes or sugar cane or grapes is any more gluten free than grain alcohol is. Reserve the suggestion that distilled alcohols actually do contain gluten for those that might; there is some concern, for example, about whiskeys and bourbons do to added ingredients that affect flavor, color and mouthfeel. Research any alcohols might utilize additional ingredients after distillation. Also, don't assume that just because an alcohol isn't made with a grain that it isn't made in a facility that contains grains... there is still a possibility that cross contamination can occur even if your vodka is made from potatoes.

Sigh... yes, yes, I know that now there are liquors that have labels assuring us they're gluten free (but then, so does water). The Alcohol Professor John Pomeroy explains why some some distilled alcohols can get this label while others are not allowed to: "According to the most recent TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) ruling, a third-party test is required for a company to make gluten-free claims in advertising, but unless the product is made from gluten-free ingredients, it can not be advertised as gluten-free on the label... As most people are aware, however, regulation and fact are all too often on opposite ends of the reality spectrum. Regardless of what the TTB and the FDA say, according to the experts of distilling, unless a spirit comes into contact with gluten after the distillation process, there is none present in the distillate. Advertising and marketing may have successfully convinced many of us otherwise, but facts are facts. If you’re getting sick from spirits, it’s not because of the gluten!'

Right now, someone is thinking this:

"But what about the 'energy' of the gluten? In homeopathy, you don't need the physical substance for the energy to be present for it to act on you..."

Well, OK... but if you're gonna pull the "homeopathy dilution/energy" card, I'm gonna raise you the "like treats like" card. As soon as you bring up homeopathy, we should be seeing the energy of non-present gluten in grain alcohol helping gluten allergies, not worsening them.

I've been inquiring for several years now, extensively, with other practitioners and people who used herbs: absolutely, some people do seem to react to grain alcohol, but it seems to be, on the whole, quite a small percentage (and, though I know this will peeve some people, it does seem higher in people who've been told "grain alcohol has gluten"). I would expect that if gluten (or other grain proteins) were the cause, the reaction rate would be a LOT higher, especially in those who are very sensitive.

Now, I obviously know some people are going to disagree. Some people furiously. If you'd like to do so: please do; I encourage you. But please share you reasoning. And please factor in that correlation is not causation. There's a big difference between saying "I react to this, so I'm going to avoid it" and saying "I react to this because of the gluten". The first part ("I react to this..." no one can really debate. But the second part ("because of the gluten") does require some kind of objective reasoning to be valid.

If you've got it, let's hear it. Share this on Facebook, tag me, and let me know what you think.