Is sake gluten-free? Usually, it’s brewed from rice

Usually, yes. Sake is brewed from rice, water, koji (rice cultured with a mould) and yeast, and none of these contains gluten. Some sake has distilled alcohol added, which is gluten-free too.

What to check

• Flavoured sake, sake cocktails and sparkling blends: read the label for added ingredients.
• Shochu, a different drink: it can be distilled from barley (mugi shochu), but as a distilled spirit it’s gluten-free, just like whisky.
• Japanese beer is barley unless labelled gluten-free, and barley tea is often served alongside. The sake is the easy part.

With food

At a Japanese meal, the gluten is usually in the soy sauce, not the drink. Bring a gluten-free soy sauce or tamari.

Keep reading

• The Hidden-Gluten Watchlist: the 15 forbidden names and the ones to check
• Is soy sauce gluten-free?
• Are vodka, gin and whisky gluten-free?
• Is tea gluten-free?
• Gluten-free Japan

Sources: Coeliac UK, EU Regulation 1169/2011 and 828/2014, Codex Alimentarius (gluten-free = 20 mg/kg or less). We inform, we don’t diagnose: for medical questions, your doctor or dietitian has the last word.