Gluten free beer can be hard to come by… so is Corona gluten free?

There is just something about that fresh lime in an ice cold bottle of Corona that is one of a kind… man I miss that!

I’ve seen a lot of debate out there on the topic. I’ve even seen some celebrities pushing out a narrative that they are gluten free and still drink Corona beer. So what’s the deal?

Corona is NOT Gluten Free… “technically”

Corona is not truly gluten free. There I said it! One of Corona’s ingredients is barley which is gluten. Sorry to disappoint! However, there is some data that creates confusion or hope!

So why so much debate? what’s the deal?

Corona Beer Gluten Issue

The issue here is the particle count in my mind. I have read that Corona has less than 20ppm of gluten.

Despite having a gluten ingredient, it is still below the threshold of the FDA to be considered gluten free which is 20ppm. However, since one of the ingredients contains gluten, you won’t see a gluten free label, at least in the US.

My assumption is the brewing process. I assume the particle count drops in the process. Maybe someone can chime in below and school me up! Would love to hear some feedback or experiences.

Corona Gluten Testing Results

I’ve found 3 sources that have used 2 different tests to test Corona. All 3 sources indicate a negative test result for the presence of gluten. The following are the three sources:

-Dante at Cooking Al Dante

-Gluten in Beer Corona Test

-Lowgluten.org Corona Test

Take these negative test results with a grain of salt… or maybe a lime!

Corona Seltzer GF Option

When the White Claw craze hit, companies began to jump on the seltzer bandwagon and lucky for us Corona was riding shotgun!

I do indulge in a hard seltzer at times. Don’t judge me! However, I will tell you the Corona Seltzers are one of my go to seltzers. I could argue that they taste better than White Claws and they don’t come with the judgement of your friends.

Corona Seltzers are gluten free and they are marked accordingly. So there is some good news here!

If you can not drink Corona Beer, the Corona Hard Seltzer is probably the next best thing. Let me know in the comments below if you agree!

Gluten Free Dad’s Conclusion

There are so many delicious gluten free beers out there, why risk it anymore? If you are gluten free, I know it would be tempting, but steer clear on the Corona. If you have celiac disease, it may be a hard no! The other alternative is roll with the hard seltzer. I promise I won’t judge you! Either way, do what is best for you!

Has anyone not had issues with Corona? Would you agree or disagree? Would you try a gluten removed beer like we see from Stone Brewery?

I also have a running list of all the gluten free beers I’ve tried with rankings and where I bought them. You can see the ever growing Gluten Free Beer List!