In the recent weeks, there has been quite a bit of talk about the new gluten free version of Mike's Lite Hard lemonade. I had read that testing had been done to certify that the lite beverage is indeed gluten free, including an ELISA test being done. Before going out and buying some, I did some checking on their website. Mike's indeed has used the ELISA test and results are 5ppm or less, way below the required 20ppm.
Only two flavors are currently labeled as Gluten Free, the regular lite hard lemonade and lite cranberry hard lemonade. Mike's states that neutral malt base is the core of all their products, but only the lite beverages have been tested.
I gave in and bought a six pack. There is a bit of an after taste at first, but the lite hard lemonade tastes great! I would attribute the after taste to the natural sweetners (stevia). I have become pretty sensitive to gluten contamination in the last six months and will react within 45 minutes. No reaction! It will be nice to be able to hang out with friends at get togethers or at a softball game and have an alcoholic drink that is not wine!
