Why is beer not vegan?

Beer is one of the world’s most popular alcoholic beverages, with origins dating back thousands of years. However, many people may not realize that most beers actually contain animal products, meaning they are not vegan-friendly. So why exactly is beer not vegan? There are a few key reasons.

Ingredients

The primary reason that most beers are not vegan is due to some common ingredients used in the brewing process. Here are some of the main non-vegan ingredients commonly found in beer:

• Isinglass – This is a gelatin substance obtained from the swim bladders of fish. It is used as a fining agent to remove suspended particles that can cause haziness in beers.
• Casein – A protein found in milk, casein is sometimes used during the brewing process and can end up in finished beer. Some brewers add milk proteins to enhance flavor and foam stability.
• Honey – Some styles of beer are brewed with honey to add sweetness, color, and flavor. Obviously honey is an animal product.
• Lactose – Also known as milk sugar, lactose is added to some beers to provide added sweetness and body. It is unfermentable by yeast so it remains in the finished beer.
• Carmine/Carminic Acid – Red dye that is sometimes used to give certain beers a red or pink color. Carmine is derived from cochineal insects.

So ingredients like isinglass, casein, honey, lactose and carmine are all animal-derived and therefore not considered vegan. Many brewers use these ingredients regularly in their beer recipes.

Beer Filtration

In addition to specific non-vegan ingredients, the filtration process used by some breweries can introduce animal products into beer. Traditional beer filtration methods include filtering the beer through blood, bones, and other animal-based clarifying agents. These substances grab onto suspended particles in the beer that can make it appear hazy or cloudy. The particles then precipitate out of the beer along with the clarifying agent, leaving behind a clearer final product.

While not as common today due to technological advances, some traditional breweries still use animal ingredients like bovine blood, egg whites, or fish swim bladders to help filter and clarify their beers before packaging. This renders the final product non-vegan.

Use of Fining Agents

As mentioned above, a common reason for beers containing animal ingredients is due to the use of fining agents. These are substances added to beer to grab onto suspended particles like proteins, tannins and yeast cells that can make the final beer appear cloudy or hazy. The particles clump onto the fining agent and then sink to the bottom of the tank, resulting in a clearer final beer.

Traditional fining agents derived from animals include:

• Isinglass – From fish swim bladders
• Gelatin – From bovine bones and cartilage
• Casein – Milk protein
• Albumen – From egg whites

These traditional fining agents work well to clarify beers, so many breweries continue to use them. However, their animal origins mean the fined beers are strictly not vegan.

Use of Yeast

Yeast is a critical ingredient that turns the sugars in the brewing mixture into alcohol and carbonation. While yeast itself is not an animal product, some brewers use fining agents that contain animal products to remove the yeast after fermentation is complete.

One example is isinglass, a gelatin from fish swim bladders. Some brewers add isinglass to the fermented beer to make the yeast cells clump together and sink to the bottom more quickly. The yeast can then be filtered out more easily along with the isinglass particles.

So even though yeast is fine for vegans, if a brewer uses an animal product like isinglass to help remove the yeast from the final beer, it would no longer be considered vegan.

Beer and Veganism

Why does this matter for vegans? The primary reason is that strict vegans do not consume animal products or support animal exploitation. Since common ingredients and processing aids like isinglass, gelatin, casein and carmine are all derived from animals, vegans seek to avoid them.

There are four main reasons vegans avoid the use of animal products like those sometimes found in beer:

1. To reduce animal suffering – Vegans are ethically opposed to animals being raised and/or killed for human use.
2. Health – Vegans avoid animal products for potential health benefits.
3. Environment – Producing animal products is seen as detrimental to the environment.
4. Food security – Feeding animals to produce animal protein is seen as wasteful and taxing on global food production.

So in order to align with these values and reasons, vegans must avoid non-vegan beers containing ingredients like isinglass, gelatin, casein, honey, carmine and others animal products.

Tracing Animal Products in Beer

So how can you know for sure if a beer is vegan or not? Unfortunately, it is not always easy to identify which beers are animal-free. Here are some tips:

• Check the brewer’s website – Some list ingredients and production details.
• Contact the brewery directly – Ask about their ingredients and processes.
• Look for vegan certifications on labels – Such as the Vegan Society logo.
• Use guides that research vegan beers – Such as Barnivore.com.
• Avoid traditional British cask beers – These are fined with isinglass.
• Ask at your local beer store – Staff may know which brands are vegan.

In some cases, you may not be able to get a definitive answer on whether a beer is vegan-friendly or not. Some craft breweries are willing to share details while larger operations keep their recipes and processes private. When in doubt, vegans should err on the side of caution and avoid beers where animal products may potentially be used.

Vegan-Friendly Beer Brands

While most mainstream beers like Budweiser, Coors, Guinness and others are not vegan, there are still many great options for vegan beer drinkers. Here are some popular beer brands that produce at least some vegan varieties:

Brewery	Beer Brands
Barnivore	Hazy IPA, West Coast IPA
Bravus	IPA, Amber Ale, Stout
Brewdog	Punk IPA, Elvis Juice, Hazy Jane
Brooklyn Brewery	Brooklyn Lager, East IPA
Deschutes	Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter
Eel River	Organic Ale, Amber Ale
Full Sail	Session Lager, IPA
Golden Road	Mango Cart, Wolf Pup Session IPA
New Belgium	Fat Tire, Voodoo Ranger IPA
Odell Brewing	90 Shilling Ale, IPA
Samuel Adams	Boston Lager, Rebel IPA
Sierra Nevada	Pale Ale, Torpedo IPA
Stone Brewing	Delicious IPA, Buenaveza Salt & Lime Lager
Widmer Brothers	Hefeweizen, Upheaval IPA

This is just a sampling of some well-known breweries that offer vegan beers. There are many smaller craft breweries also producing vegan-friendly beers. Resources like Barnivore.com keep ongoing lists of vegan beers reported by users. Homebrewers can also easily make their own vegan beers from base ingredients.

The Future of Vegan Beer

The increasing popularity of veganism has led more breweries to offer animal-free beer options. Consumers requesting vegan beers is also making the industry more aware. Promising developments include:

• More breweries explicitly labeling vegan beers
• Natural clarifying agents like Irish moss becoming more common
• Groups certifying vegan beers, like the Vegan Society
• Consumer apps identifying vegan beer brands, like Untappd
• Greater transparency from brewers on ingredients and processes

So while traditional brewing practices have made non-vegan beer the norm until now, the industry is gradually moving in a more vegan-friendly direction. With enough consumer demand, vegan beers could one day become the standard.

Brewing Vegan Beer

For those interested in brewing their own vegan beer at home, the process is very similar to traditional brewing. The keys steps are:

1. Mill the vegan grains – Such as barley, wheat, rye, rice, millet, sorghum, etc.
2. Mash the grains – Mix with hot water to convert starches to fermentable sugars.
3. Boil the mash – Add hops and boil to extract flavors and bittering.
4. Ferment with vegan yeast – Most dry yeast strains are vegan.
5. Clarify with natural agents – Such as Irish moss or whirlfloc tablets.
6. Package the beer – Kegs, bottles or cans.

As long as all-grain vegan ingredients and animal-free fining agents are used, homebrewers can easily produce high quality vegan beers. Things to avoid are gelatin, casein, isinglass or any other animal derivatives. Hops, barley, wheat and yeast give you everything needed to make great vegan beer.

Try These Vegan Beer Recipes

Here are some delicious vegan beer recipes to try brewing at home:

Ginger Lime Wheat Beer

• 6.5 lbs Wheat Malt
• 0.5 lbs Munich Malt
• 1 oz Centennial Hops (60 min boil)
• 0.5 oz Citra Hops (5 min boil)
• 1 oz Fresh Grated Ginger (5 min boil)
• Zest of 2 Limes (5 min boil)
• Safale US-05 Yeast
• 3/4 cup Lime Juice (bottling)

Oatmeal Stout

• 9 lbs Pale Ale Malt
• 1 lbs Flaked Oats
• 12 oz Roasted Barley
• 8 oz Black Patent Malt
• 1.5 oz Fuggles Hops (60 min boil)
• Wyeast Irish Ale Yeast

Blood Orange Double IPA

• 10 lbs Pale Malt
• 1 lb Caramel 20L Malt
• 1 oz Magnum Hops (60 min boil)
• 1 oz Mosaic Hops (5 min boil)
• 1 oz Citra Hops (5 min boil)
• 1 lb Blood Orange Puree (Secondary)
• California Ale Yeast

For detailed homebrew recipes, ingredients, instructions and more check out websites like VeganBrewer.com. Brew your own delicious vegan beers at home!

Conclusion

In summary, the primary reason most beers are not vegan is due to the use of animal-derived ingredients, fining agents and filtration aids used in the traditional brewing process. Substances like isinglass, gelatin, casein, egg albumen, carmine and others are added by many breweries. However, there are an increasing number of beer brands offering high quality vegan options by avoiding these animal products. Consumers requesting vegan beers is helping to shift the industry. Homebrewing your own vegan beer from base ingredients is another great option. With more awareness and choices, vegan beer lovers can still enjoy great tasting cruelty-free brews.