Is Sake gluten-free? Plus a list of gluten-free sake brands

Find out if sake has gluten, if it’s safe for a gluten-free diet, if your favorites are gluten-free, and what brands to look for.

When it comes to following a gluten-free diet, there are a lot of things to consider. It’s important to know what foods you can eat, but what about what you can drink? If you drink alcohol, you may be wondering if it’s safe to enjoy while being gluten-free.

Some types of alcohol contain gluten, so you’ll want to be sure what you drink is safe for your diet. In this post, we’ll dive into the details of vodka, and answer the question “does sake have gluten?”

This post is part of the Gluten-free Alcohol Series, where we’re going to discuss different types of alcoholic drinks and how they fit into a gluten-free diet.

What is sake made from?

Sake is made from fermented rice. Sometimes koji is used in the fermentation process. Koji is a fungus and is gluten-free.

What is gluten?

Gluten is a protein found in most wheat products, and acts as the “glue” that helps to hold wheat, barley, kamut, spelt, farro, durum, bulgur, rye, and semolina together to maintain their shape.

Gluten is naturally occurring, and therefore is impossible to strip away from the grain. If a grain naturally has gluten in it, there’s no way to make that food gluten-free.

Is sake gluten-free?

Yes, most sake is gluten-free, because it is made with rice. Rice is a naturally gluten-free ingredient, making sake also gluten-free.

According to Beyond Celiac, premium sake is gluten-free. Non-premium sake may contain additional ingredients that may not be gluten-free, so as long as you choose a premium sake, it is safe for your diet.

If you are out at a restaurant, be sure to take note of the brand so you can find out if it is a premium or non-premium sake brand. It’s not ideal, but you could try look it up on your phone to find out if it’s gluten free before ordering.

Gluten-free Sake

Now that we know that premium sake is gluten-free, let’s go over some brands and answer a few questions as to whether or not some of your favorites are safe for your gluten-free diet.

Gluten-free Sake brands

What other Japanese food and ingredients are gluten-free?

Sake is just one Japanese ingredient and drink. Find out if some of your favorite Japanese foods and popular ingredients are safe for your gluten-free diet in these posts:

I hope if you’ve been on the lookout for a gluten-free sake that this post has been informative to help you make a choice when you’re at restaurants or shopping at the liquor store. Be sure to stick to premium sakes over non-premium sakes.