Arkansans allergic to beer cheer state’s OK of gluten-free brand
Posted on Sunday, June 29, 2008
Pizza and beer.
It’s a pairing for some that rivals peanut butter and jelly.
However, traditional pizza and beer are forbidden fruits for about one in every 133 Americans who suffers from celiac disease.
For those people, gluten — a protein mixture found in wheat, rye and barley — damages their small intestines, preventing their bodies from absorbing vital nutrients. The condition can lead to severe malnutrition, weight loss, chronic fatigue and other symptoms. The only treatment is avoiding gluten.
An Internet search turned up at least 11 Little Rock-area restaurants that offer gluten-free menu items. Among them are two local Asian-food eateries and nine large chains with locations around the state and nation.
While none have gluten-free pizza, some have gluten-free beer.
There are now two brands of gluten-free beer available to the estimated 30, 000 Arkansans with celiac disease after the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Division approved Harbor Distributing Co. to sell Bard’s Tale Dragon’s Gold beer.
Ruth Parker is among the Arkansans who live with celiac disease. She first tasted the beer three years ago at a seminar in Chicago.
In 2000, at age 50, Parker was diagnosed with the disease and began learning the ins and outs of coping with the hereditary condition, which has been passed on to her son Andrew Parker. She attended the Chicago seminar with his wife.
A highlight at the event was a pizza party that offered cold Bard’s Tale beer — which is made from malted sorghum instead of malted barley — to wash it down.
“All of the vendors presented the gluten-free products they make. Bards Tale presented their beer, and we were just surprised how good it was, so I smuggled about six in my carry-on bag and brought them back to Arkansas,” Ruth Parker said, laughing at the memory. “When my husband went to Chicago on a business trip he indeed smuggled some more out.”
Michael Langley, executive director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Administration Division, said if manufacturers want to sell their alcoholic beverages in Arkansas, they must be licensed by his office. After paying an application fee, a brewery then must designate a distributor. If Langley’s office determines there is a need for the product in the state and approves of the distributor, the permit will be granted.
Langley said he was happy to consider the request from Minneapolis-based Bard’s Tale to sell it’s beer in Arkansas.
“I have a number of friends who are celiac,” he said. “When you go to lunch or dinner with a celiac you get a real education as to how offensive the disease is. And individuals aren’t supposed to bring beer in from other states, so we wanted to take whatever steps available to help celiacs and provide as much variety as possible.”
Nick Pierce, president of Harbor Distributing, said that before two years ago, he never knew people could be “allergic” to beer. He said he became familiar with the disease when then-Attorney General Mike Beebe addressed the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Arkansas convention.
“I’ve been in the beer business for 30 years and didn’t know celiacs existed,” Pierce said. “When Gov. Mike Beebe spoke at the beer wholesalers convention before he was elected, he said somebody on his staff was celiac. He said ‘If y’all can get a beer in here, I’ve got a customer for ya.’”
Pierce said it took two years to locate a beer, get approval from the state to distribute it and then work out a cost-effective system for getting the beer to Arkansas from San Jose, Calif., where it’s made. He splits shipments from California with a Dallas-based distributor and then has the beer shipped to Little Rock from Dallas.
Though the beer is brewed in California, the company’s operations hub is in Minneapolis, Chief Executive Officer Brian Kovalchuk said. He said Bard’s Tale is available in 28 states and the Canadian province of British Columbia.
“We’re just a little startup company so we’re running right now at about 5, 000 barrels a year and growing,” Kovalchuk said.
Ann Luther is a celiac sufferer and manager of the central Arkansas branch of the Gluten Intolerance Group. She said that while her group was grateful when Anheuser-Busch released Redbridge gluten-free beer, which is available in Arkansas and nationwide, the arrival of Bard’s Tale is encouraging.
“Others had hundreds of beers to choose from. We only had one in the whole state,” Luther said. “It’s all about choices. We really need more choices for living gluten free. The next step is a glutenfree pizza place.”
Others also recognize the need for more gluten-free products. A Web site heralds the coming arrival of Dark Hills Brewery in Washington County in Northwest Arkansas. The company’s site says it was expected to open in late 2007 but will open “eight months after we raise $ 750, 000.” The Alcoholic Beverage Control office has no native brewery permit on file for the company. An e-mail to the company wasn’t returned last week, and no telephone numbers were available.
Pierce said about 25 liquor stores and about 10 bars or restaurants have ordered the gluten-free beer from Harbor Distributing, which is licensed to distribute only in Pulaski and Conway counties. Any business that doesn’t carry the beer can have it delivered within 24 hours if the business chooses to purchase it at a customer’s request, Pierce said.
Tim Fowler, a manager at the Pop-A-Top liquor store on University Avenue in Little Rock, said he hasn’t personally sold any of the new beer yet but has had people call from time to time asking for gluten-free products.
“It’s nice to be able to offer just as a convenience to people who can’t drink the other beers,” Fowler said.
Ruth Parker said retailers that offer the gluten-free beers are providing more than convenience.
“It’s a community service,” she said. “I’m not sure it will be a real moneymaker. It’s something they’re doing for folks who have to be real careful with what they consume every time they open their mouths.”
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