A. Yes, but what is labelled 'gluten-free' beer here in Europe can only be labelled 'gluten-reduced' in Argentina, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA. In those countries, gluten-free beer cannot be made with barley. Barley contains gluten. 'Gluten-free' beer that is safe for coeliacs/gluten intolerant is rarely on sale in any bar or supermarket in Europe. Instead, fridges and aisles are full of 'gluten-reduced' beers made with barley and badged as 'gluten-free', and mostly made by the big companies.

A. Because it's much cheaper and easier to make beer with barley, and it's a faster way to make a buck. And if the laws in your country allow you to do this - and you're not worried about harming people's health, it's an easy route to take.

Beer made with barley, and subsequently treated with enzymes to 'remove' the gluten is - at best - gluten-reduced beer. The gluten is not removed, however, only made smaller. And scientists have shown these smaller gluten particles are still toxic to many coeliacs and those affected by gluten (see research by Dr Laura K Allred in the USA, and Dr Michelle Colgrave from CSIRO Australia).

And the current commercial test used to detect gluten in beer (R5 Competitive ELISA) is not accurate or reliable enough for the FDA - see here. The truth is, we don't know how much gluten any of these beers contain unless they are tested using mass spectrometry (which is hugely expensive and complicated, and not commercially viable to replace the current inaccurate test). Yet these beers are labelled 'gluten-free' in Europe (and in most other countries). In Argentina, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the USA, they are labelled as 'gluten-reduced'.