Yosemite Scooter

Origin Story

Thanks to the overwhelming success of our first two attempts at some low gluten beers and to our new initiative to revive the often forgotten about American Pale Ale, we have another low gluten pale ale called Yosemite Scooter*. This new beer utilizes the same enzyme (Clarex) that we used in the Dr. Zeus and Alien Einstein that, when added to a finished beer, would essentially breakdown all of the gluten within that solution. By reducing the total malt bill used to brew Yosemite Scooter and then adding this special gluten consuming enzyme post fermentation, we were once again able to drastically reduce the overall gluten content of this beer, providing consumers who have an intolerance to gluten a beer option that would be tasty and safe for them to drink. As we did with Alien Einstein and Dr. Zeus, we wanted to make absolutely sure that the Clarex enzyme was successful in reducing gluten levels to a safe amount, so we sent samples of it off to a lab where the specific gluten content could be determined. Although we will never be able to promote any of our "low gluten" beers as gluten free, seeing as all were originally brewed from gluten based cereal grains, we hoped that the test result numbers would provide us with the security and information to encourage certain gluten intolerant folks to try it with confidence. Just like our last two Celiac-friendly brewing efforts, Yosemite Scooter had test results that were below the allowable gluten levels that the FDA would require in order to label something as "gluten free" (below 20 parts per million). Basically, as Tyler Glaze put it, finished beers that have Clarex added to them, to reduce the total amount of gluten, end up having lower gluten levels than gluten free without being called gluten free. Or if you want to get really technical, you can use the interim labeling guidelines that the Alcohol Tobacco Trade and Tax Bureau (TTB) has designated for beers made with gluten containing grains, which states: "TTB will allow use of the statement 'Processed or Treated or Crafted to remove gluten,' together with a qualifying statement to inform consumers that: (1) the product was made from a grain that contains gluten; (2) there is currently no valid** test to verify the gluten content of fermented products; and (3) the finished product may contain gluten." **valid in terms of the government giving accreditation to these enzyme based methods, but they should be accepting these processes soon. As you can tell, we will have to be cautious as we explain what was exactly accomplished through brewing these beers and pub tender education to the consumer will be essential. All of the low gluten beers that have been created should be great alternatives to most gluten intolerant people who have had to avoid beer due to the higher gluten levels present in them. Due to the fact that gluten containing grains were used at one point during the brewing process, if any customer has certain reservations or concerns, they should be informed that they would be drinking these beers at their own risk. Similar to anyone who consumes food from a kitchen where gluten is present. The most important thing to know is that we set out to create two beers that had incredibly low gluten levels, and through a new experimental enzyme and a smaller malt bill, we succeeded by producing yet another beer that had gluten levels well below allowable numbers when tested by a certified laboratory.