Is Punk AF gluten free?

No, Punk AF is not gluten free. It is BrewDog’s alcohol free version of Punk IPA, and the ingredient list on the back runs water, lactose, malted barley, hops, yeast, malted wheat, malted oats, lactic acid. Three of those are gluten grains, in a single can. If you have coeliac disease, Punk AF is not safe. The Punk you want is called Punk GF, a separate product BrewDog launched in spring 2022, brewed from barley and treated with an enzyme to bring the gluten below 20 parts per million.

Punk AF is not gluten free

Punk AF is 0.5% ABV and looks like the safe option on the shelf if you are trying to make sensible choices. The alcohol part of that is true. The gluten part is not. There is no enzyme treatment, no gluten reduction step, no gluten free claim on the can, and three gluten grains in the recipe.

Alcohol free and gluten free are two separate properties of a beer, and the only thing they have in common is that they are both printed on labels. Taking the alcohol out of a beer does nothing to the gluten. If you are coeliac and reaching for the AF can on the assumption that the small print has been taken care of, the small print has not been taken care of.

Punk GF is the one to look for

Punk GF is the gluten free Punk. Different recipe, different strength (5.4% ABV, not 0.5%), different can, sold in 330ml cans in 4 packs and bigger multipacks. BrewDog launched it in spring 2022 as a permanent product, and it is the first time in fifteen years of Punk that there has been a version coeliacs can drink.

The base grain is still barley. The gluten is broken down by a brewing enzyme, and the finished beer is tested below the 20 parts per million threshold the UK uses to define gluten free. We cover it in our directory as the easiest gluten free IPA to find in a UK supermarket, and a sensible first pint for anyone newly off gluten.

Is Punk GF safe for coeliacs?

For most people with coeliac disease, yes. BrewDog reports that Punk GF carries Coeliac UK’s Crossed Grain certification and that every batch is tested below the 20 parts per million threshold. UK law and Coeliac UK guidance both treat a beer tested below 20 parts per million as gluten free, and the medical consensus is that the residual gluten at that level is not toxic to people with coeliac disease.

The honest caveat is the one that applies to every enzyme treated barley beer. Punk GF starts as a barley beer and breaks the gluten down rather than avoiding the grain altogether. A small minority of very sensitive coeliacs report reactions to enzyme treated barley beers even when the beer tests under 20ppm, which is one of the reasons the US GFCO will not certify them. Coeliac UK takes a different view and does certify them. If you have ever reacted to a gluten reduced beer before, treat this one with the same caution you would any other enzyme treated lager or IPA.

You may have seen a Reddit thread along the lines of “BrewDog GF Punk IPA has gluten in it.” That kind of post typically refers to general confusion with Punk AF rather than a problem with Punk GF itself. It is not a description of the beer sitting in Tesco today.

Gluten free vs gluten reduced

In the UK, the words gluten free on a beer label legally mean the finished beer tests below 20 parts per million of gluten. That applies whether the beer is brewed from naturally gluten free grains, like rice, millet, sorghum or buckwheat, or brewed from barley and then enzyme treated to break the gluten proteins down.

The distinction matters in two practical ways. First, a barley beer treated with an enzyme has to carry a contains barley allergen statement on the can, even when it is also certified gluten free, because barley allergy is a separate condition from coeliac disease. Both lines are legally required and both are correct. Second, the very sensitive end of the coeliac population sometimes finds enzyme treated barley beers harder to tolerate than beers brewed without the grain in the first place.

Punk GF sits in the enzyme treated category. So does Peroni Gluten Free. Beers like Bellfield Jex-Blake and Abbeydale Voyager sit in the brewed gluten free category. All of them legally gluten free under UK law, all safe for most coeliacs, worth knowing the difference between.

Where to find Punk GF

Punk GF is in Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons at the time of writing, in 330ml cans, usually in 4 packs at around £6 to £7. BrewDog sells it direct on brewdog.com as well, in 4, 12 and 24 pack sizes when stock allows.

What else to drink

If Punk GF is the obvious starting point, here are three more from our directory worth knowing about. All tested below the 20 parts per million gluten free limit, all UK brewed, all stand up next to a Punk.

• Bellfield Jex-Blake Mosaic IPA, 5.6%. Brewed in Edinburgh by a brewery founded by two coeliacs, Coeliac UK certified and tested under 20ppm. If you want the highest assurance level on a UK gluten free IPA, this is where to start.
• Abbeydale Voyager IPA, 5.6%. A juicy modern IPA from a gluten-reduced brewery in Sheffield, tested under 20ppm.
• Williams Bros Joker IPA, 5.0%. Reported gluten free by the brewery, a longstanding Scottish craft IPA, easy to find north of the border.

For more in this style, browse the full beer directory.