Vegan Beer: What's Allowed And What's Not?

Vegans can drink beer, but they need to be careful about the type of beer they choose. While the basic ingredients in beer are vegan-friendly, some brewers add finings or flavourings that are derived from animal sources. These include isinglass (derived from fish bladders), gelatin (made from boiled animal bones, flesh and ligaments), lactose, honey, milk, eggs, and casein (a protein derived from cow's milk). It can be difficult to tell whether a beer is vegan or not, as brewers are not required to disclose ingredient lists or finings used on the label. However, there are some tools and resources available, such as Barnivore, that can help identify vegan-friendly beers.

Beers to avoid: Foster's lager, cask ales, honey beers, meads, milk stouts

It is important to note that not all beers are vegan-friendly. While the base ingredients for many beers are vegan, some brewers use animal-derived fining products to refine their brews before bottling, kegging, or canning. Steadfast vegans will want to be sure they are supporting vegan-friendly companies with ethical practices. Here are some beers and beer types that vegans should avoid:

Fosters Lager

Fosters Lager is not vegan-friendly. The company website states that it is not suitable for vegans or vegetarians as it is clarified using isinglass finings, which are derived from fish.

Cask Ales

Cask ales, including those produced by St Austell Brewery Company Limited, are not vegan-friendly. Cask ales are clarified by the addition of isinglass finings to the beer in the cask. As isinglass finings are derived from fish collagen, cask ales are not suitable for vegans or vegetarians. However, it is important to note that bottled, canned, and kegged beers from St Austell are clarified by filtration and do not contain any added isinglass finings, making them suitable for vegans.

Honey Beers

Honey is not considered vegan because it is produced by bees, and bees are animals. Vegans avoid consuming or using products that harm or exploit animals. Most vegans believe that beekeeping and honey production exploit bees and harm ecosystems. Therefore, honey beers would not be suitable for vegans.

Meads

Like honey, mead is produced using honey as a primary ingredient. As honey is not considered vegan, mead would also not be suitable for vegans.

Milk Stouts

Milk stouts are a type of beer that uses lactose, a sugar derived from milk, as an ingredient. Milk and dairy products are not vegan, so milk stouts would not be suitable for vegans.

Vegan beers: Budweiser, Coors, Miller Lite, Heineken, Sam Adams Boston Lager, Guinness

The world's growing population of plant-based dieters is creating a demand for more vegan alcoholic drinks. Beer typically has vegan-friendly base ingredients, such as barley malt, water, hops, and yeast. However, some brewers use animal-derived products to refine their brews before bottling, making them non-vegan.

Budweiser

Budweiser is vegan-friendly. The company has confirmed that none of its beers contain animal ingredients or derivatives.

Coors

Coors Light is also vegan-friendly. The company, Molson Coors, has stated that they do not use any animal by-products in their brewing process or packaging. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) includes Coors on its list of companies with no animal-derived ingredients.

Miller Lite

Miller Lite is another vegan-friendly option. MillerCoors, the brewing company, has confirmed that they do not use any animal by-products in the brewing process for Miller Lite or any of their other products.

Heineken

Heineken has confirmed that some of their products are suitable for vegans, including Heineken 0.0, brewed in the Netherlands. However, they also produce non-vegan beers, and there may be a possibility of cross-contamination during production.

Sam Adams Boston Lager

While Sam Adams does not provide specific information about the vegan status of their Boston Lager, they do offer a variety of vegan options. Their website provides a detailed list of ingredients for each beer, making it easier to determine which ones are vegan-friendly.

Guinness

Guinness is now officially vegan. Until 2016, Guinness used isinglass, a fish bladder product, in its manufacturing process, making it unsuitable for vegans. However, they have since changed their filtration process and confirmed that all Guinness products worldwide, including draught, bottles, and cans, are isinglass-free and suitable for vegans.

Vegan beer apps: Barnivore, Green Vegan, Vegaholic, VeganXpress, Veggiebeers, VegeTipple, Drink Vegan

Beer is typically made from barley malt, yeast, hops, and water—all vegan-friendly ingredients. However, some breweries use animal-derived ingredients for flavouring or filtration, such as dairy, honey, isinglass (fish bladder), gelatin, egg whites, and sea shells. These ingredients are often used to clarify the beer before bottling, and they are not always disclosed on the label.

To help identify vegan beers, several apps are available:

Barnivore

Barnivore is a web-based database that provides information on ingredients and filtering methods used in over 45,000 beer, wine, and liquor products. It is also accessible through several mobile applications.

Green Vegan

Green Vegan is an iOS application that uses Barnivore's data to help users identify vegan alcoholic beverages. It costs $1.99 to download.

Vegaholic

Vegaholic is an iOS and Android application created by Barnivore that helps users find vegan wine and beer. The app is user-friendly and costs $0.99 to download.

VeganXpress

VeganXpress is an iOS and Android application that helps users find vegan options at fast-food restaurants and bars. It costs $1.99 to download.

Veggiebeers

Veggiebeers is an iOS and Android application that provides information on vegan beers. It is free to download and is the highest-rated app among the ones that use Barnivore's data.

VegeTipple

VegeTipple is an Android application that provides information on vegan alcoholic beverages. It costs $1.49 to download.

Drink Vegan

Drink Vegan is a Windows phone application that helps users find vegan alcohol. Like the other apps, it uses Barnivore's database for its information.

Vegan beer breweries: Broken Compass, Epic Brewing Company, Little Valley, Marble Brewery (Manchester, UK)

While beer is typically made with vegan-friendly base ingredients such as barley malt, water, hops, and yeast, some brewers use animal-derived fining products like gelatine or isinglass (a type of fish-based gelatine product) to refine their brews. This is not an unusual practice, with many large, commercial breweries using these fining agents to clarify their beer before bottling, kegging, or canning.

However, there are several breweries that produce vegan beers, ensuring that their brewing processes and ingredients are vegan-friendly. Here is some information about four of them: Broken Compass Brewing, Epic Brewing Company, Little Valley Brewery, and Marble Brewery.

Broken Compass Brewing

Broken Compass Brewing is a brewery with two taprooms located in Breckenridge, Colorado. While there is no explicit mention of vegan practices on their website, they offer a diverse range of beers, including IPAs, stouts, and sours.

Epic Brewing Company

Epic Brewing Company, with locations in Utah and Colorado, has over a decade of experience producing award-winning, small-batch beers. They offer a wide variety of craft beer styles, including barrel-aged beers and IPAs. However, their website does not specifically mention if their beers are vegan.

Little Valley Brewery

Little Valley Brewery, located in West Yorkshire, England, is known for its vegan-friendly practices. They use a centrifuge instead of isinglass to clear their ales, ensuring that their brewing process is vegan-approved. Most of their beers carry the endorsement of the Vegan Society.

Marble Brewery

Marble Brewery, a microbrewery in Manchester, England, creates cask ale from organic and vegan ingredients. They do not use isinglass finings, commonly made from the swim bladder of the sturgeon, to clarify their beer. Marble Brewery sources its ingredients from non-intensive agriculture, ensuring a vegan-friendly process. Their beers include a range of bitters, porters, stouts, and IPAs.

Vegan beer festivals: London Vegan Beer Fest

The London Vegan Beer Fest is an annual event that was first held in 2013. The festival was created because London lacked large-scale social events specifically for vegans. The event was inspired by the Los Angeles Vegan Beer Festival and was completely plant-based with a focus on beer.

The first London Vegan Beer Fest was a small garden party in Bethnal Green for 200 people. Over the next six years, it grew into one of London's biggest annual vegan parties, attracting thousands of attendees. The event also expanded to other UK cities, including Manchester, Glasgow, Sheffield, and Coventry.

The London Vegan Beer Fest featured a wide range of vegan beer, food, and wine options. It provided a space for the vegan community to come together and celebrate. However, in 2019, the organisers decided to discontinue the event, citing the mainstreaming of veganism and the increased availability of vegan options in shops, supermarkets, pubs, and restaurants.

The London Vegan Beer Fest was a trailblazer in the vegan community, and its impact was felt beyond the festival itself. It played a role in the mainstreaming of veganism and helped improve outcomes for non-human animals by celebrating compassionate choices.

While the London Vegan Beer Fest may no longer be running, its legacy lives on in the increased visibility and accessibility of vegan options in the UK.

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