Is Desperados gluten free?
By Simon ยท Updated 4 June 2026
No. Desperados is a barley based lager with a tequila flavouring. The agave tequila is gluten free, but the beer underneath is not, so it is not safe for people with coeliac disease.
Desperados trips people up because of the tequila, and I genuinely understand why. Tequila is made from agave and is naturally gluten free, so it is easy to assume the drink as a whole is safe for someone with coeliac disease too. It is not. Desperados is a barley beer first and a tequila flavoured one second, and the barley is what matters for coeliacs.
What is actually in the bottle
Desperados is brewed from barley malt, with glucose syrup, sugar, hops and a tequila flavouring. The base is a normal barley lager, and barley contains gluten. There is no enzyme treatment, no gluten reduction, and no gluten free certification. The product carries a gluten allergen declaration.
The tequila is added as a flavouring, not brewed in as a grain, and it makes up a small part of the drink. It changes the taste, not the gluten content.
The tequila myth
The logic that catches coeliacs out runs: tequila is gluten free, Desperados tastes of tequila, therefore Desperados is gluten free. The flaw is that Desperados is not a spirit, it is a beer. The agave flavouring sits on top of a barley lager, and a gluten free ingredient added to a gluten beer does not cancel out the gluten. The only way a barley beer becomes safe for coeliacs is if the gluten is removed and the beer is tested below 20 parts per million, and Desperados is not.
What to drink instead
If you want a flavoured or simply crisp beer without the gluten, the answer is one brewed gluten free from the start, or made gluten reduced and tested below 20ppm. A few from our directory worth trying:
- Renegade Brewski Peach Lager, 4.1%. A fruity, flavoured gluten free lager if it is the sweeter, flavoured angle you are after.
- Celia Organic Lager, 4.5%. A clean, crisp organic lager.
- Bellfield Craft Lager, 5.2%. A pale, easy drinking lager from a fully gluten free brewery.
For more, see our guide to gluten free lagers, or browse the full beer directory.
Frequently asked questions
Is Desperados gluten free?
No. Desperados is a lager brewed from barley malt with a tequila flavouring added. Barley contains gluten, and the beer is not gluten reduced or certified gluten free. The tequila element is gluten free, but it does not change the barley base, so Desperados is not safe for coeliacs.
But isn't tequila gluten free?
Tequila on its own is gluten free, because it is made from agave, not grain. But Desperados is not tequila, it is a barley beer with a small amount of tequila flavouring added. The gluten comes from the barley in the beer, and the agave flavouring does nothing to remove it.
Why is Desperados not gluten free?
The base of Desperados is a standard barley lager, and barley contains gluten. There is no enzyme treatment to break the gluten down and no gluten free certification, so the finished drink contains gluten and is not suitable for coeliacs.
Is there a gluten free version of Desperados?
No. Heineken, which distributes Desperados in the UK, does not make a gluten free version. If you want a flavoured or fruity beer without the gluten, you need to switch to one brewed gluten free or made gluten reduced and tested below 20 parts per million.
What gluten free beer can I drink instead of Desperados?
For a flavoured, easy drinking option, Renegade's Brewski Peach Lager is a fruity gluten free choice from our directory. For a straightforward crisp lager, Celia Organic Lager or Bellfield's Craft Lager are good gluten free swaps.
How we checked
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