Is Mead Gluten-Free?

Yes! Mead is naturally gluten-free… and if you've been missing an ice-cold, crisp, carbonated something on a hot afternoon, that's very good news. 

Why mead has no gluten

Gluten comes from grains ….wheat, barley, and rye. It's what gives bread its stretch, and it's brewed right into beer, which is made from malted barley and hops. 

Mead isn't made from grain at all. At its heart it's just three things: honey, water, and yeast. No wheat, no barley, no rye…no gluten. In that sense mead has more in common with wine than with beer: both are naturally gluten-free because neither starts with grain. Add fruit, apples, or spices and it stays that way …none of those bring gluten to the party either.

The gluten-free answer to a cold beer

Here's the part we're a little excited about. Many of our meads are draft-style, carbonated, and sessionable — right around 6% ABV … and served cold, they drink remarkably like a crisp, refreshing beer. Same bubbles, same ahh on a hot day, same easy-drinking feel... without the gluten. I like to take a break from beer to give my belly a reprieve and keep my figure…umm…somewhat trim. 

For anyone who's celiac, gluten-sensitive, or just cutting back, that's kind of a big deal. You don't have to settle for something heavy or syrupy to sit on the patio with a cold one. Razzputin, our tart raspberry sour, and Black Madonna, our smooth blackberry sour, are perfect examples: bright, bubbly, gluten-free, and every bit as satisfying as reaching for a beer. I personally like the Wild Ginger. 

One honest exception

In the wider mead world, there's a single style to watch for: a braggot, which is mead brewed with malted barley — that one does contain gluten. That’s one style we haven’t tried yet, but maybe some day. 

But our meads are gluten-free, plain and simple. If gluten's a concern, stick to the mead list and drink easy.  

Come grab a cold one

The best gluten-free crisp-beer stand-in is waiting on tap. Stop by the St. Ambrose Cellars tasting room in Beulah, Michigan, pull up a chair on the patio, and let us pour you something cold, bubbly, and 100% gluten-free. See the full draft mead lineup here.

Turns out the oldest drink in the world was gluten-free all along. 🍯

St. Ambrose Cellars • Beulah, Michigan • Crafted with honey from Sleeping Bear Farms