Is Neck Oil gluten free?
By Simon · Updated 4 June 2026
No. Beavertown's Neck Oil is brewed from barley malt, with no gluten removal process, so it is not safe for people with coeliac disease.
Neck Oil is a barley beer, so for anyone with coeliac disease the answer is no, however good a session IPA it is. Beavertown’s flagship session IPA is loved for its bright, citrussy, easy drinking character, but all of that comes from the hops. The base is malted barley, and barley contains gluten.
What is actually in the can
Neck Oil is brewed from barley malt, with rye also in the grain bill, then heavily hopped to give it that juicy, sessionable flavour. Both barley and rye are gluten grains. There is no enzyme treatment, no gluten reduction, and no gluten free certification. Beavertown lists gluten as an allergen on the product, which is the clearest signal there is: if the brewer declares gluten, the beer is not safe for coeliacs.
The hops are what make Neck Oil taste the way it does, and hops are gluten free, but they do not change the grain underneath. A hoppy beer is no safer for coeliacs than a malty one if it is built on barley.
No gluten free version
Beavertown does not currently make a certified gluten free Neck Oil. So while the beer is a great session IPA for most drinkers, it is off the table if you have coeliac disease. The good news is that gluten free session IPAs have come a long way, and several now match the style closely.
What to drink instead
If you want that hop forward, easy drinking session IPA 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:
- Brightside Mango Session IPA, 4.2%. Juicy and fruit forward, in the same easy drinking territory as Neck Oil.
- Purity Session IPA, 4.5%. A clean, hoppy session IPA for everyday drinking.
- Black Isle Goldfinch Organic Gluten-Free Session IPA, 3.4%. A lighter, organic option that is gluten free by design.
For more, see our guide to gluten free IPAs, or browse the full beer directory.
Frequently asked questions
Is Neck Oil gluten free?
No. Beavertown's Neck Oil Session IPA is brewed from barley malt, which contains gluten, and the recipe also includes rye, a second gluten grain. It is not gluten reduced and carries no gluten free certification. Beavertown lists gluten as an allergen, so it is not safe for people with coeliac disease.
Why is Neck Oil not gluten free?
Neck Oil is built on barley malt, and barley contains gluten. There is no enzyme treatment to break the gluten down, so the finished beer contains gluten. Beavertown declares gluten as an allergen on the product.
Does Beavertown make a gluten free beer?
Neck Oil is not gluten free, and Beavertown does not currently market a certified gluten free version of it. If you want a hoppy, sessionable IPA without the gluten, you need to switch to a beer brewed gluten free or made gluten reduced and tested below 20 parts per million.
Is Neck Oil safe for coeliacs?
No. As a barley based beer with no gluten removal, Neck Oil is not safe for people with coeliac disease. The hoppy, citrussy flavour comes from the hops, not from any change to the grain, so it carries the same gluten as any other barley beer.
What gluten free session IPA is most like Neck Oil?
For the same easy drinking, hop forward session IPA character, Brightside's Mango Session IPA and Purity's Session IPA are good gluten free swaps from our directory. Black Isle's Goldfinch Organic Gluten-Free Session IPA is another, at a lighter 3.4%.
How we checked
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