Omission’s Roots

It’s no surprise that we’re fond of Omission beer, Portland’s own gluten-free beer.

Here’s a little behind-the-scenes video that shows a bit about the making of the beer, the story behind it, and the process. This video was made before the addition of their awesome IPA. I love the fact that the Widmer CEO has Celiac.

Omission Launching an IPA!

Omission beer is out of Portland, and we’re proud of that. Its regularly called the best gluten-free beer in the nation, if not the world. We drink it often, and even many of our gluten-drinking friends have a six pack of it in their fridges. So it’s with excitement that Omission announces their third style, an IPA. Whoo!

Their official press release:

Omission Brewing introduces GLuten-Free IPA in Oregon

India Pale Ale marks brewery’s 3rd gluten-free craft beer brewed with malted barley

PORTLAND, Ore. – March 26, 2013 – Omission Brewing Company today announced it is adding Omission India Pale Ale (Omission IPA) to its gluten-free beer lineup in Oregon. Omission Brewing is the first craft beer brand in the United States focused exclusively on brewing great-tasting craft beers with traditional beer ingredients, including malted barley, specially crafted to be gluten-free. Omission IPA hits shelves in Oregon on April 1.

“Omission IPA is the first authentic gluten-free IPA brewed with malted barley to hit the market,” said Joe Casey, Widmer Brothers Brewmaster. “This IPA is brewed in the traditional Northwest IPA style, yet is specially crafted to be gluten-free. The beer uses a generous amount of Summit and Cascade hops giving it a beautiful citrus flavor and aroma.”

“At Omission, we’re constantly innovating, and exploring new opportunities to share our love of craft beer with anyone of legal drinking age, including those with gluten sensitivities,” said Terry Michaelson, CEO, Craft Brew Alliance, and longtime celiac. “Part of that is experimenting with different beer styles that meet our rigorous gluten-free standards while staying true to our commitment to high-quality craft brewing. Omission IPA hits the mark, and we can’t wait to get it into the hands of our customers in Oregon this spring.”

Omission beers are brewed by Widmer Brothers Brewing in Portland, Ore., using an innovative brewing program to ensure that gluten levels in every batch measure well below the widely accepted CODEX gluten-free standard of 20 parts per million (ppm) for food and beverages. Every batch of Omission beer is tested by the brewery and by an independent lab, and all test results are available to consumers at http://www.omissiontests.com. Fan stories of when they first discovered Omission beers, or what they like to call their “O” Moments, are available at http://www.omissionbeer.com/o-moments.

Gluten-free Omission IPA:

Omission IPA is a bright, hop forward Northwest Style IPA produced in the spirit of the original IPAs shipped from the UK to India in the late 1800s. The heavy-handed use of Cascade and Summit hops give it notable pine, citrus, and grapefruit aromas and flavors. The bitterness is what you would expect of a NW IPA but this beer is balanced and smooth due to the perfect level of malt sweetness. The finish is crisp, clean, and refreshing – it’s a true IPA lover’s IPA.

About Omission IPA

Ingredients

• Malts: Pale, Carmel 10°L
• Hops: Cascade, Summit

Profile

• IBU: 65
• ABV: 6.7%

Omission IPA has a suggested retail price of $9.99 per six-pack and will be available in six-packs of 12-ounce bottles at the Widmer Brothers Gasthaus Pub in Portland, Ore., and at retailers, restaurants and bars throughout the state.

Omission to Cross the Border

Our neighbors to the North can soon begin enjoying one of the best gluten-free beers on the market. (Via Omission)

 

GLUTEN-FREE OMISSION BEERS TO LAUNCH IN CANADA

PORTLAND, Ore. – Jan. 3, 2013 – Craft Brew Alliance (CB^A) will distribute its gluten-free Omission Beer in Canada beginning in mid-January. Launched in March 2012, Omission Beer is the first U.S. craft beer brand focused exclusively on brewing great-tasting craft beers with traditional beer ingredients, including malted barley, that are specially crafted to be gluten-free.Omission Lager and Omission Pale Ale, the first two beers in the Omission portfolio, will be introduced in British Columbia in January before moving into other Canadian markets in the coming months.

To Be Or Not to Be Gluten Free Beer

What do you guys think?

Via WWeek:

Beer’s Great Gluten War Heats Up

Is the top selling gluten-free beer gluten-free enough? Are its competitors beer?

On May 16, the three Portland breweries which make gluten-free beer—Widmer Bros., Deschutes, and Harvester—stood shoulder to shoulder as Mayor Sam Adams declared it Gluten Free Beer Day.

Such innocent times!

A new ruling is complicating things in the burgeoning gluten-free beer market. Eight days after the celebration, the Treasury Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (known as the “TTB”) handed down a verdict that could push one of the three brewers off the podium.

According to the TTB, wine, beer or distilled spirits “made from ingredients that contain gluten (cannot) be labeled as ‘gluten-free.’” This could spell trouble for Widmer, which has invested significant time and money in a new gluten-free beer.

Glutens are proteins found in grains such as barley, wheat, and rye—the base for beer— that have been blamed for a variety of autoimmune disorders. Doctors have long known some people have an extreme sensitivity, called celiac disease. Lately, gads of folks have either been medically or self diagnosed as celiacs or “gluten-sensitive.” Locally, it’s a big industry. Four dedicated gluten-free bakeries have sprouted up in Portland with a full baker’s dozen offering gluten-free breads and treats.

There’s big money at stake. The market for gluten-free foods in the U.S. and Western Europe was worth around $3.5 billion in 2010, according to one food research company. And since some estimate that 95 percent of celiacs are not yet diagnosed, while gluten-free products already sell like rice flour hotcakes, it’s clear why breweries want a piece of the buckwheat-crust pie.

Only a few months ago, Widmer Bros., a division of Craft Brew Alliance (CBA), the nation’s ninth’s largest brewing company, released Omission Gluten Free Lager and Gluten Free Pale Ale. Widmer is selling the beer locally, and plans roll it out nationwide soon.

Here’s the kicker: Unlike other gluten-free beers, which are typically made from sorghum and usually taste nothing like actual beer, Omission is made from traditional ingredients, including barley. The beers are then deglutenized enzymatically. The result is a beer that tastes like beer—unlike so many competitors—yet has allegedly imperceptible levels of gluten. Not zero gluten, just almost none, not unlike caffeine in decaf coffee or alcohol in non-alcoholic beer. Widmer isn’t the first to use this process; it’s just the first to do it commercially in the U.S. Development began six years ago and researched and tested full-throttle for the last two.

Adopting guidelines set forth by organizations within the World Health Organization, the FDA has said food labeled as gluten-free cannot exceed 20 parts per million (ppm) gluten. Omission beers are at 5-6 ppm. As a point of reference, Widmer Drifter Pale Ale comes back at 50-100 ppm.

There are new gluten-free beers coming out all the time.

Deschutes’s gluten-free beer, on tap only at its brewpubs in Portland and Bend, is made from brown rice and sorghum so it’s safe for “the most sensitive celiac.”

“It is interesting from a scientific standpoint to experiment with enzymes that break down gluten proteins in the brewing process to below testable limits… but we are not 100 percent confident that these beers would be safe for the most sensitive celiac to drink,” said Deschutes brewer Veronica Vega. “We will not put out a beer that will challenge the confidence our consumers.”

Portland is also home to the nation’s first dedicated gluten-free brewery, Harvester, which opened at the end of 2011 after three years of recipe development. In a press release, Harvester seemed happy about the new ruling, touting its “long-standing decision to use only inherently gluten-free ingredients in its beer.” For Harvester, this includes sorghum syrup, certified gluten-free oats, and Willamette Valley chestnuts. All four of their bottled offerings are quite palatable even to non gluten-sensitive cerevisaphiles.

TTB’s Tom Hogue said that the FDA continues to look into issues surrounding gluten-free labeling and that the 20 ppm of gluten standard is “proposed but not final.” The TTB’s ruling affecting Omission’s gluten-free labeling only pertains to interstate commerce, so beer labeled gluten-free in Oregon could be just “handcrafted” in California, Washington, and everywhere else it will show up.

TTB operates with the “best available information,” said Hogue, and gluten-free beers pose a problem. Whereas there are accurate tests for gluten content in bread, pasta and cupcakes, “Right now, no test will validate accurate gluten content of a fermented product, considering fermentation drastically, chemically changes that product.” He says the ban on gluten-free labeling for beer brewed from deglutenized malted barley is “subject to change as the science gets better.”

Widmer is confident in its product. It had better be, since the CEO as well as the brewmaster’s wife are both diagnosed celiacs. CBA also expects the rules to evolve as the science gets better, sooner rather than later.

CEO Terry Michaelson, who became director at Widmer in 1994 and was diagnosed as a celiac six years later, said the company is working closely with the TTB, knowing it has “to operate within the regulations that they have,” but confident that they will “evolve over time.”

“I don’t see (the ruling) as a negative at all at this point,” he says. “Work is being done on the science.”

Michaelson points out that despite Omission debuting in April, according to market research group SymphonyIRI data it’s already “the top selling gluten-free beer in the market place at this point.”

Yes, it’s selling better than four-year veteran Redbridge from Budweiser.

Whether the Bureau’s labeling restriction is lifted or not, bottom line, says Michaelson: “If someone is concerned at all, they shouldn’t drink it.”

One ironic quirk of alcohol-related bureaucracy is that the TTB gets to rule that deglutenized beers cannot be labeled gluten-free, but can’t make any rulings on the labels of “beers” made with sorghum or rice because, according to law, they’re not “malt beverages.”

That means the rice and sorghum beverages are only “beer” for the purposes of taxation.

Friday Happy Hour Round Up

It’s Friday! You have most definitely earned that 5pm (or 4:30) drink. Luckily, there are a lot of spots in Portland to quench your happy hour thirst. And we are aware that the list of gluten-free friendly spots keeps growing. Indeed, our list of Happy Hour Spots is going to be overhauled this weekend, and we’d love to know your feedback. Where do you go for a drink these days? What places do we add to our list?  We just saw the new gluten-free menu at Widmer’s Gasthaus, which looks like it pairs beautifully with their awesome new Omission beer. The Sweet Hereafter is supposed to have a tasty GF happy hour, Saucebox downtown is showing off a new menu…. What else are we missin? Give us a shout, reply to this post, or leave us a note on our website! And regardless of where you end up, make it a good one!

Omission Beer Follow-Up: How Do They Do It?

It’s fair to say that Omission, Widmer’s new gluten-free beer is a success. Strong marketing, smart timing, and great taste all add up to a winning formula. But how do they make this beer taste so much like a great ‘regular’ beer? Very carefully, it seems.  We at GlutenFreePDX have a good relationship with Widmer and Lane PR, their marketing firm. We were just sent over some more detailed information about Widmer’s proprietary brewing process, and wanted to share it with you.

PORTLAND, Ore. – May 2, 2012 – Omission Beer, introduced by Craft Brew Alliance (CB^A) in March, is sharing additional details about the brewing program that allows Omission Lager and Omission Pale Ale to be brewed using traditional ingredients, like malted barley, but without the gluten-levels associated with other malted barley-based beers. Every batch of gluten-free Omission beer, which is only available in Oregon, is brewed following the multi-stage program developed by the brewery, and every batch is tested by an independent lab to ensure that it contains gluten levels well below the international gluten-free standard of 20ppm or less.  This standard is defined by the United Nations Food & Agricultural Organization and the World Health Organization.

Brewed by Widmer Brothers Brewing in Portland, Ore., Omission beers have turned heads in the craft beer industry, celiac community and beyond. Committed to educating consumers about the beers brewed under the Omission brand, CB^A is offering greater insight into the proprietary brewing process behind the beers that everyone of legal drinking age can enjoy.

“We’ve had a great response to our new line of Omission beers and, naturally, a lot of questions about our approach,” said Terry Michaelson, CEO of CB^A. “After a significant investment in research, testing and development over the past two years, we’ve established an entire brewing program focused on managing gluten in the brewing process from start to finish.”

The Omission brewing program includes additional steps and requires additional care, beyond standard brewing practices and protocols, to ensure that beer brewed with malted barley meets strict gluten standards set forth by the brewery:

·        Ingredient and style selection: Omission beers are brewed with low-protein barley. Style choices are based, in part, on ability to reliably reduce gluten-levels to well below strict standards.

·        Sanitization: All brewing equipment downstream from fermentation is freshly cleaned and sanitized for every batch of Omission beer. Unlike the process used in brewing other beers, where hot water rinse may be sufficient, equipment is cleaned and sanitized before Omission beers are brewed to avoid risk of cross contamination.

·        Brewers Clarex™: Brewers Clarex™, an enzyme developed by DSM Food Specialties and traditionally used to prevent chill-haze in beers, is added during the brewing process. The enzyme, which has been used by craft brewers around the world as a clarifying agent since it was introduced more than five years ago, works to break down proteins, including gluten, in the beer.

·        Testing: Every batch of Omission beer is tested for gluten by two independent labs using the R5 Competitive ELISA. Omission beer’s primary lab partner is Eurofins Scientific, the world leader in food and pharmaceutical products testing. Every batch of Omission beer is also tested by the Food Allergy Research and Resource Program (FARRP) at the University of Nebraska. Tests are also conducted internally by the brewery at various stages in the brewing and packaging processes; within a month, Omission beers will be tested internally at the brewery using the R5 Competitive ELISA as well. No bottles of Omission are released to consumers until all results are reviewed and verified to contain gluten levels well below the international gluten-free standard of 20ppm or less.

·        Packaging: To further protect the integrity of the beers, Omission beers are only sold in bottles and never available on draught, where risk of cross contamination from tap lines or server error could threaten consumer safety.

·        Consumer Education:  CB^A  is committed to sharing information about the beers, brewing processes and testing so consumers can make a confident choice when purchasing and drinking Omission beer. Consumers are encouraged to visit www.OmissionTests.com, where they can enter the date code stamped on their bottle and view their beer’s R5 competitive ELISA test results.

“Developing a brewing program that would allow us to brew great tasting craft beer brewed with malted barley, but happens to be gluten-free, has been a personal mission of mine for the last several years,” said Joe Casey, brewmaster at Widmer Brothers Brewing.  “With the Omission program, we’re able to consistently brew beer with gluten levels well below the international gluten-free standard.”

About Omission Beer

Brewed by Widmer Brothers Brewing in Portland, Ore., Omission Beer is the first craft beer brand in the U.S. focused exclusively on brewing great-tasting craft beers with traditional beer ingredients, including malted barley, specially handled to preserve character while significantly reducing gluten levels. Each batch of Omission Beer is tested using the R5 competitive ELISA test to ensure that it contains gluten levels that are well below the international standard for gluten-free of 20 ppm. Drinking is believing.

 

About Craft Brew Alliance

Craft Brew Alliance was formed with the merger of leading Pacific Northwest craft brewers Widmer Brothers Brewing and Redhook Ale Brewery in 2008. With an eye toward preserving and growing one-of-a-kind craft beers and brands, CB^A was joined by Kona Brewing Company in 2010. Craft Brew Alliance launched Omission Beer in 2012. For more information about CB^A, visit www.craftbrew.com.

Omission!

BIG NEWS in the beer world!

Via Craft Brew Alliance and Business Wire:

“Drinking is Believing”

This spring, Craft Brew Alliance will launch Omission Beer, the first craft beer brand in the United States focused exclusively on brewing great-tasting craft beers with traditional beer ingredients, including malted barley, that are specially crafted to be gluten-free. Omission beers are brewed by Widmer Brothers Brewing in Portland, Ore., which uses a proprietary brewing process to reduce the gluten levels to well below the widely accepted international gluten-free standard of 20 parts per million (ppm) for food and beverages. (The international gluten-free standard was set forth by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which was created in 1963 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization.) Omission Beer is expected to release the first beers in its portfolio, which will be available only in Oregon, on April 2.

“Developing great-tasting, authentic craft beers that happen to be gluten-free was a personal mission for our brewmaster and me, and it’s a mission that our team really got behind. The launch of Omission Beer is a game changer for celiacs and the craft beer community,” said Terry Michaelson, CEO of Craft Brew Alliance. “As a 12-year celiac and longtime craft beer enthusiast, I’m thrilled to introduce delicious craft beers that can be enjoyed equally by those who are affected by gluten sensitivities and those who are not.”

Unlike many other gluten-free beers currently available, Omission beers are not brewed with sorghum, rice, tapioca, buckwheat or quinoa; they are brewed using traditional beer ingredients: malted barley, hops, water and yeast.

“Omission Beer has been a work in progress for the last six years,” said Joe Casey, brewmaster at Widmer Brothers Brewing. “My wife was diagnosed as a celiac in 2006, and since then, we’ve made it our mission to brew a great-tasting craft beer using traditional beer ingredients that everyone of legal drinking age could enjoy. After years of hard work, mission accomplished.”

Gluten-Free Guarantee, Every Batch Tested:

Each batch of Omission Beer is tested by an independent lab to ensure that all Omission beers contain well below 20 ppm of gluten. Gluten levels in Omission beers are tested using the R5 competitive ELISA test. Beer will not be released to consumers until test results are received and after an extended quality assurance hold.

About Omission Beer

Omission Beer is a new brand of gluten-free craft beers, available only in Oregon. Brewed by Widmer Brothers Brewing in Portland, Ore., Omission is the first craft beer brand in the United States focused exclusively on brewing great-tasting craft beers with traditional beer ingredients, including malted barley, that are specially crafted to be gluten-free. Each batch of Omission Beer is tested using the R5 competitive ELISA test to ensure that it contains gluten levels that are well below the international standard for gluten-free of 20 ppm. Drinking is believing.

About Craft Brew Alliance

Craft Brew Alliance was formed with the merger of leading Pacific Northwest craft brewers Widmer Brothers Brewing and Redhook Ale Brewery in 2008. With an eye toward preserving and growing one-of-a-kind craft beers and brands, CBA was joined by Kona Brewing Company in 2010. For more information about CBA, visit craftbrew.com.

SOURCE: Craft Brew Alliance

GlutenFreePDX has been invited to the exclusive unveiling event, and we are excited to try the new beer and report back! Whoo!