Brewers Clarex is an enzyme that was originally developed to prevent the formation of chill haze in beer but it was also later found to denature the gluten in beer so that it no longer causes an immune response in those with gluten intolerance or coeliac disease. Beers utilising Brewers Clarex for gluten reduction generally contain less than 5ppm gluten in laboratory testing with some even registering a ND (non-detectable) result. Stone Brewing from the US pioneered Brewers Clarex in craft beer with the release of their Gluten Reduced Delicious IPA in early 2015. Brewers Clarex only really came into use in Australia in the mid 2010s with Bentspoke & Wayward Brewing being some of the early adopters. 

The advent of Brewers Clarex has been a game changer in beers available for gluten intolerant and some coeliac drinkers. Previously the only gluten free options available to gluten intolerant and coeliac drinkers had to be made using so called "ancient grains", barley, wheat & rye alternatives that don't contain gluten such as sorghum, millet, rice, buckwheat, spelt or corn. Whilst delicious beers can and are made using these ancient grains (Two Bays Brewing import all their grain from the US as it is the only way they are able to access the range and freshness of grain required for their beers) it does somewhat limit the range of styles available as well as they range in base & specialty grain able to be used to brew those beers. Brewers Clarex has meant that any beer be can be made gluten "reduced" no matter the ingredients, opening up a much wider range of beers to gluten intolerant & some coeliac drinkers.

Having used ingredients containing gluten, the beers made using Brewers Clarex can't technically be called "Gluten Free" despite the fact that they contain less than 20ppm gluten, which is generally considered to be the safe threshold for gluten intolerance & coeliac disease worldwide. As it once contained gluten it is required to be called "gluten reduced" which makes sense considering recent studies into the suitability of gluten "reduced" beers for coeliac's found that "some individuals with coeliac disease reacted to the gluten-removed beer" meaning gluten free is the only certifiably safe option for coeliacs.

The following Australian breweries are using Brewers Clarex (or Clarity Ferm) in some or all of their beers (though generally not any New England or Hazy style beers as Brewers Clarex would remove the desired haze):

• Archer - All beers (including small batch, seasonals and one-offs).
• Bentspoke - Easy, Bent, Barley Griffin, Crankshaft, Sprocket, Red Nut and all non hazy limiteds.
• Black Hops - Mid Range, Send It, Lay Day, Pale Ale, Hornet and Super Hornet.
• Brick Lane - ?
• Burleigh - "All the core range beers (and even most of the others) have Clarex in them. It’s only the odd pilot batch brews that won’t have Clarex" - Burleigh Senior Brewer 16/9/24.
• Green Beacon - "Virtually every beer that we don't intend to come out hazy" - Green Beacon Chief Brewer 23/9/24.
• Grifter - Sunshine XPA.
• Hawkers - Pilsner, Pale Ale, West Coast IPA and ROVER Gilbert Rd Lager.
• Rocky Ridge - Draught, Pilsner, ACE IPA & Session IPL.
• Stomping Ground - Lager, Pale Ale & IPA (Please note: "It’s not always in there if we run out on a specific brew (which has happened). We cannot guarantee it being in the beer." - Stomping Ground Brewer).
• Stone & Wood - Green Coast Lager.
• Swell - Pale Ale, Mid-Strength Ale, Premium Draught, Foreign Export Stout, American Red Ale, Single Hop Session Ale, West Coast IPA and all non hazy limiteds.
• Wayward - Everyday Ale, Everyday Lager, Raspberry Berliner Weisse, IPA and all non hazy limiteds.
• Wolf of the Willows - Crisp Lager, XPA, IPA and Woodsman Amber Ale.

If you're Coeliac and the gluten reduced beers aren't suitable or aren't doing it for you there are an ever growing number of Gluten Free beers and breweries pushing the boundaries of what can be done with ancient grains and new technologies. Some of the best and more widely available are listed below:

• Two Bays - All beers.
• O’Brien - All beers.
• Wilde - All beers.
• Wild Polly - All beers.
• Hope - Pilsner
• Holgate - Tropical Pale

If you know of any other gluten reduced or gluten free options that aren't listed above or have noticed any errors please let us know in the comments ;-)