Is your beer Vegan?

Being a vegan is tough enough as the best of times. Making the conscious decision to give up meat and diary on moral grounds in an incredibly admirable thing to do. However, while food normally dominates the conversation when it comes to veganism, people often fail to consider non vegan-friendly drinks in their diets

Sure, drinking milk is an obvious no no, but how about alcohol – and more specifically beer? Surely that's OK?
Afraid not. Many beers aren't suitable for vegans. As Veganuary shapes up as one of the biggest diet trends of the year, not enough people know the facts about their drink of choice.

So, here’s everything you need to know about vegan and non vegan-friendly beer.

Why isn’t all beer vegan?

While you might not necessarily associate meat with booze, some of the most popular beers in the UK aren’t vegan friendly. In fact, there's every chance that the average beer drinker regularly sups on non-vegan products without ever realising it.

Most beers are just a combination of water, malted barley, yeast and hops. No problems there. However, there’s an ingredient used in some brewing processes called isinglass, and most of the time it’s the inclusion of this component which determines the vegan/non-vegan nature of the beer.

What is isinglass?

Isinglass is the dried swim bladders of fish, which is used as a refiner in certain beers and wines. Filings of the material are often used to ‘clarify’ the beer towards the end of the production process, often to help speed up the clarification of the drink.

Tiny particles of fish are left in the beer after the brewing process is complete in this way, meaning it’s not suitable for vegans and strict vegetarians.

“Isinglass is a commonly used substance for brightening beer and removing haze,” says Cosmo Sutherland, head brewer at vegan-friendly brewer Beavertown.

“A few hundred years ago all beer would have been naturally hazy, but over time as techniques and equipment changed, beer gradually became clearer and as such the public’s expectation changed.”

Appearance aside, the use of isinglass has no influence on the taste of the beer and many brewers, such as Beavertown, are able to steer clear as a result.

“There is no need for beer not to be vegan. Fundamentally all you need is malt, water, hops and yeast,” says Sutherland.
How do I know which beers are vegan?

If you’re new to the world of vegan beer, it’s always worth asking bar staff about vegan options, particularly if a pub prides itself on its organic products or craft beer. However, if you're uncomfortable asking bar staff about vegan beer in a packed pub, there are great places to look online.

Barnivore is one such site, offering a database of over 36,000 beers. Next time you’re unsure whether a drink is isinglass-free, the chances are you’ll be able to find it on there.

Currently, many brands including Fosters, Kronenbourg and Carling, as well as brewers Sharp’s and John Smiths aren’t vegan-friendly.

However, there certainly seems to be a growing audience for vegan beer in the UK over recent times, something exemplified by Guinness, which made the decision to abandon the use of isinglass in its keg beer in 2015.

While cans and bottles of the black stuff still contain isinglass, all the Guinness available on draft in pubs up and down the UK is vegan-friendly.

Luckily for meat-free beer fans, London's drinking scene is changing, too, with the introduction of new vegan pubs and chains over recent times.

So, while there are a growing number of great vegan beer options, it’s always worth checking the next time you’re down the pub.

Find a full list of Vegan friendly Beers HERE.

http://bit.ly/vgnbeer