Beer and Peanut/Tree Nut allergies, a growing problem

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by HeavensGoblet, Sep 18, 2015.

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  1. HeavensGoblet

    HeavensGoblet Initiate (0) Apr 21, 2015 Massachusetts

    I have a very deep love of beer. Beer has been one of the most simple aspects of my life. While beers can vary greatly in terms of their intricacy, at the end of the day the mantra seems to be... Beer is Beer. Eleven months ago, i found a new love in my life, a girl! If only the two could co-exist, and largely they can; however, she has very serious allergies to peanuts and tree nuts--an allergy severe enough to potentially have anaphylactic level attacks triggered by very small amounts of allergen (so cross-contimation and cleanliness of equipment comes into play).

    I have greatly changed my food lifestyle to accommodate her needs, but it is a very interesting culture. If you have never been exposed to the difficulties of living with a food allergy, you probably will not understand or care. But, the bottom line is, the labeling of food for allergens in America is terrible (it is even worse in Europe and Asia, but better in Australia). People living with allergies need to dedicate hours and hours of their personal time each week to physically call up companies and restaurants to learn about their facilities and how they label and how they handle cross contamination for allergens (it is then up to the consumer to determine whether or not they deem the product safe for their own ingestion). Ignoring the sometimes really burdening psychological aspects of this and just focusing on the physical, that's already a pretty hard thing to do. But, it is a worthwhile price to pay in order to have a feeling of safety, as well as, normalcy.

    My Bottom line, Beer, which used to be such a simple aspect of my young life has suddenly become a bit more complicated. I am up for the challenge though. I am currently in the process of compiling a list of safe breweries in accordance with my girlfriends nut allergies. Breweries, to my knowledge, are not legally obligated to label for any allergens or cross contamination. But, as craft brewers get less and less traditional with their ingredients (many brewers have been using Peanut Butter as an additive in stouts/porters for years already, the new fad seems to be using Pink Peppercorn which is a tree nut), the need for allergen labels is becoming more and more necessary.

    As it stands now, i call breweries and ask about ingredients and additives. If a brewery has never brewed with a nut or tree nut, they make it to my list. If they brewed a one time only release with a peanut or tree nut brew and assure me that they thoroughly clean their lines very regularly, they make my list with an asterisk, and if they regularly brew with peanuts or tree nuts they get a big ol' x. (on the list means she can drink it with me, asterisk means i can probably drink it, but i wouldn't advise her to, X means avoid when around her).

    So BA community, I write to you now, looking for: some advice, personal stories, breweries that are safe for her and I to enjoy, breweries that aren't safe, any thoughts..... Fire away
     
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  2. ECdOc

    ECdOc Initiate (0) Nov 9, 2004 Pennsylvania

    Sounds like this is a list that could have purposes beyond just yourself, why not consider sharing it with other people with the same problem so you can all compile a master list together. Maybe even put it up on a website for all to peruse and contribute to. Would seem a worthwhile idea for more ppl than just yourself.
     
  3. HeavensGoblet

    HeavensGoblet Initiate (0) Apr 21, 2015 Massachusetts

    I was hoping maybe this could be the beginnings of such a list! Here's what i have so far:

    Safe for Pn/Tn allergies as of 9/18/2015
    Trillium
    Rising Tide
    Yuengling

    Possibly Safe but I won't ever risk it

    Tree House (brewed Peanut Butter Double Shot as part of 3rd anniversary party/Have peanuts for consumption on premise)

    Definitely Avoid
    Night Shift
    Jacks Abbey
    DuClaw
    Other Half
     
    #3 HeavensGoblet, Sep 18, 2015
    Last edited: Sep 18, 2015
  4. HeavensGoblet

    HeavensGoblet Initiate (0) Apr 21, 2015 Massachusetts

    This is simply not entirely true. Plently of brewers have experimented adding Peanut Butter to stouts/porters and pink peppercorns (a tree nut), to saisons/belgians.
     
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  5. LehighAce06

    LehighAce06 Pooh-Bah (2,240) Jul 31, 2010 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Very interesting, and a topic I've wondered about lately. My 4-year-old has an allergy (though not as severe as your girlfriend's) to peanuts and tree nuts (as well as eggs and sesame seeds).

    I still drink peanut butter beers in the house, though I also make eggs for breakfast and eat sesame seed bagels, it's just a matter of cleaning up thoroughly in our case.

    Another thing you may want to consider is if the brewery has a taproom or restaurant as part of the production facility, do they serve food that contains allergens, as cross contamination from the kitchen to the brewery is possible. I concede it's unlikely, but anaphylaxis is nothing to mess with.

    Shy of a website, a google doc would be a great start. If one gets made, please share in the thread.

    I'll add Willoughby's, Belching Beaver, Springhouse, Evil Genius, and Terrapin as breweries that routinely brew peanut butter beers, and The Bruery routinely makes tree nut beers.

    Goose Island has made Nuthulu a couple times, though I'd imagine they likely would earn the * as I can't imagine an AB facility not being meticulously clean, nevertheless it warrants a call.
     
    #5 LehighAce06, Sep 18, 2015
    Last edited: Sep 18, 2015
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  6. HeavensGoblet

    HeavensGoblet Initiate (0) Apr 21, 2015 Massachusetts

    Cleaning up should do they trick in most all cases, even for anaphylaxis (if done thoroughly). The biggest problem right now is that there is no regulation for how brewers should clean their equipment if working with potential allergens (this does exist for food currently, albeit it is a work in progress). A brewers only current incentive for cleaning thoroughly is to preserve taste and remove impurities from their beer.
     
  7. chcfan

    chcfan Initiate (0) Oct 29, 2008 California

    Apologies. Just trying to help. I haven't had the need to call any of them. I've only heard of a handful of PB and peppercorn beers in over 10 years of beer nerdery.
     
  8. LehighAce06

    LehighAce06 Pooh-Bah (2,240) Jul 31, 2010 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Peanut Butter in particular is growing FAST in popularity.

    This only covers beers with "peanut" in the NAME of the beer, not all those with it as an ingredient: http://www.beeradvocate.com/search/?q=peanut but I think it illustrates my point.
     
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  9. HeavensGoblet

    HeavensGoblet Initiate (0) Apr 21, 2015 Massachusetts

    All positive feedback is appreciated, man. No worries. Beers with these things aren't very widespread yet. Its more or a less a recent phenomena. But, that's why i made this thread. Its starting to happen more and more, and it isn't being regulated.
     
  10. drtth

    drtth Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2007 Pennsylvania
    In Memoriam

    German imports that claim they adhere to the Reinheitsgebot should have only yeast, water, barley and hops. If nuts are added in anyway they can not be legally claimed in Germany as being brewed under the RHG.

    Also, at a personal level, someone suggested exploring spirits and wine. I have never seen a winery, distillery of Irish Whiskey, Bourbon or Malt Whisky that would have reason to use nuts.
     
    #10 drtth, Sep 18, 2015
    Last edited: Sep 18, 2015
  11. LehighAce06

    LehighAce06 Pooh-Bah (2,240) Jul 31, 2010 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I will note though that flavored vodkas (and rums, such as Malibu) might, and of course liqueurs such as Amaretto and Frangelico certainly would be offenders.
     
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  12. nickfl

    nickfl Initiate (0) Mar 7, 2006 Florida

    I appreciate your situation, but that line gives me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Cleaning regulations could easily mean the FDA or TTB coming in and telling breweries they can't ferment or age in wooden vessels anymore, even though it has been done for centuries. I am sure there would be other possible consequences to such regulation that none of us could foresee. The majority of the breweries in this country are small businesses and could be crushed by the weight of regulation and unnecessary food safety compliance issues. By unnecessary I don't so much mean the allergen stuff as the sort of clean room practices you see in dairy and meat processing which simply aren't necessary in the safe production of beer, but which an overzealous bureaucracy could easily decide to cram down the throat of the industry.

    Allergen labeling, on the other hand, is a perfectly reasonable idea. Its easy enough for a brewery to add a statement to a product label warning of the inclusion or possible inclusion of allergens in a product and any brewery brewing with something that could so seriously harm some people should be making sure they disclose that fact to their customers.

    Brewers benefit greatly from the fact that beer can't support the growth of pathogens and therefore is considered an intrinsically low risk food product. I think that the brewing industry is largely receptive to the idea of allergen labeling and the like to prevent beer being seen as something that could make people sick. Just be aware that talk of regulation and government enforcement is going to get a cold reception from a lot of people, because anyone who has owned a business has had bad experiences with government bureaucracy. Lobbying for an industry standard of labeling and disclosure is a much more productive way to improve the beer world for people who suffer from these serious allergies.
     
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  13. drtth

    drtth Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2007 Pennsylvania
    In Memoriam

    Good addition. I should have gone on to specifically mention avoiding things such as flavored spirits and liqueurs (probably wine coolers as well).
     
  14. LehighAce06

    LehighAce06 Pooh-Bah (2,240) Jul 31, 2010 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I thought the liqueur thing was obvious enough it didn't warrant its own post, but it worked as the back half of my mention of flavored vodka. Flavored vodka is getting really popular, and are flavored god-knows-how, with god-knows-what...
     
  15. LehighAce06

    LehighAce06 Pooh-Bah (2,240) Jul 31, 2010 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I like this post a lot. Even as someone who has a child with allergies, I agree that there has to be a balance somewhere between there being no information available (unsafe) and out-of-control regulations (overly difficult for businesses). I agree that a labeling standard would be (I think) a good compromise. Changing labeling can be challenging for small breweries, but if it were an industry standard I think it wouldn't be too hard to fall in line with such a thing.
     
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  16. HeavensGoblet

    HeavensGoblet Initiate (0) Apr 21, 2015 Massachusetts

    My intention here isn't to suggest "HEY THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD SEE WHATS GOING ON WITH CRAFT BEER AND RUIN EVERYTHING AND PUT PEOPLE OUT OF WORK AND BREAK THE INDUSTRY AND AMERICA"...

    But at the same time, labeling with beer is really bad right now in all instances. I don't think anyone in their right mind would want to ruin a good thing and make a brewer change their process. But, i would love better labeling, specifically for allergens. Though that only tells part of the story.

    Cross contamination is a serious issue that needs to be addressed by labeling. If a brewer wants to brew a beer with allergen A, for example, and we don't want to ruin a good thing and regulate how brewing equipment and draft lines should be cleaned when you brew with allergen A, would every beer the brewer makes require a "May Contain statement?" I would say yes. I guess another issue would be what someone earlier in the thread raise, if a beer has nut flavorings are they using actual nuts that could potentially lead to someone have an allergic reaction or is it a "well it doesnt actually have hazelnuts in it, but it tastes just like hazelnuts", labeling would help this as well i feel.

    Overall, Thank you for your input. I agree that too much regulation would definitely hurt the small business aspects of the booming American beer scene, but there needs to be some sort of compromise.
     
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  17. 5thOhio

    5thOhio Pooh-Bah (1,571) May 13, 2007 South Carolina
    Pooh-Bah

    I would think breweries with no history of added flavorings, and/or a philosophy of brewing with only traditional ingredients, such as breweries specializing in German styles, would be safe.

    And don't blame me for encouraging those beer abominations. Never knowingly drink any beers with flavorings. If you can't do it with hops, yeast, water and barley, I'm not interested.
     
  18. FFFjunkie

    FFFjunkie Initiate (0) Aug 26, 2014 Illinois


    If cross contamination were a concern the label could read "brewed at a facility that processes peanuts and/or tree nuts". That would alert the consumer to the possibility of cross contamination.
     
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  19. jmw

    jmw Initiate (0) Feb 4, 2009 North Carolina

    According to the TTB list of Exempt Ingredients and Processes, it appears that nuts of any kind have not yet been included as an ingredient that does not require a Process Approval as a part of the label approval. In theory*, this would mean that any brewery that was in fact using nuts or nut products in their beers would have needed to apply for this extra level of approval. You could call up a brewery that you were curious about and ask if any of their beers have required Process Approval from TTB and they should be able to tell you right away.

    *In theory--I have a feeling that many small breweries are not going through this process with some of their more experimental beers, as this list is pretty darn limited and some beers coming out today include everything short of the kitchen sink. Buyer beware.
     
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  20. Henamonster

    Henamonster Initiate (0) Feb 2, 2007 California

    It sounds like you've hit on a solid fix (calling the brewery and finding out if they do or don't.) I honestly have never heard of this being an issue with beer before, so I can't speak to whether or not any labeling changes or government mandates on sterile environments are warranted. Several airlines still offer peanuts, however if you call ahead they'll withhold offering them on your particular flight. As someone who has no peanut allergy, I wouldn't want to incur the cost if a brewery is now hit with additional fees, equipment costs, etc. to cater to a fraction of the population. Labeling something with a "brewed in a facility that also brews w/tree nuts, peanuts, etc.", I have no issue with. Even if they put a warning; "may contain allergens" with a link to their website for more info, would probably suffice.
     
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