Vegan Alcohol

Well, we all need a bit of vegan alcohol don't we? What makes vegan beer and vegan wine......well.....vegan?

Vegan alcohol is another area where us vegans have to do a bit of homework before we can sup on that glass of wine with our meals, or in my case, get bladdered down the pub!! Talking of bladders - let's talk isinglass.

Isinglass is used in the refinement process of some alcoholic brands and is a form of gelatin prepared from the internal membranes of tropical fish bladders. Remember than isinglass isn't an ingredient as such as it is used purely for fining purposes so the manufacturers do not have to list it in their alcohol ingredients list (most brands do not include an ingredients list on their brands). However there are many brands of vegan alcohol out there so do not fret!

BEER


Isinglass finings are used during the processing stage in the British brewing industry to help clear beer of cloudy yeast extracts. This method is used particularly in the production of cask conditioned beers (real ale to you and me), although some brands are available which do not use isinglass in this process.

Basically, the isinglass finings stick to the live yeast in the beer and turn it into a jelly like substance which then settles at the bottom of the cask. This method is used to accelerate the process of clearing up the beer, and if left to itself, the beer would clear naturally, although this takes some time.

Non cask beers which we get in cans and bottles are often pasteurized and filtered which means the yeast in these beers tends to settle at the base of the storage tank naturally. Therefore, the liquid from these beers can often be filtered without using isinglass. Of course, that doesn't mean to say that they are not made with isinglass.

Most supermarkets and off licences will sell particular brands of vegan beer so it is easy to get hold of if you know which brands to look for.

I think it's a pity that we have to search for vegan alcohol when the fining process does not need to use animal based fining products as there are other ways to clarify and clear the end product.

CIDER


Traditionally egg white or fresh slaughterhouse blood was used in the fining process of cider making but dried blood is rarely used anymore. Isinglass is rarely used as a fining agent in cider making as it has the wrong pH properties and so gelatin (the collagen inside animal bones) is used in the fining process instead. There are some brands which do not use gelatin in the fining process though so if you are a cider drinker, then you will find a few brands to suit you.

SPIRITS

Most spirits are vegan although campari contains cochineal so isn't suitable for vegans. Also watch out for some whiskies and brandies which may have been conditioned in casks using an animal derived filtering process.

WINE

Isinglass is also used in the fining process of a lot of wines. Also, some red wines contain cochineal (also called carmine, cochineal and carminic acid) which is a red dye made out of crushed beetles. Thank goodness for vegan wine is all I can say!

Some companies use bentonite or kaolin in wine refining. These are two minerals which are suitable for vegans. Also some wines are filtered manually without the use of any fining products. Vegan wines sometimes use beetroot powder to add colour to their red wines. Much healthier I think!

Organic wine isn't always vegan wine either. Organic wine is made without the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides but they can still be fined using animal derived finings.

You can also get vegan champagne as well as vegan wine.

The biggest list I can find for vegan alcohol is this one which you may find useful.

A few supermarkets do label their own brand vegan alcohol as such which is obviously very handy and if you cannot find a particular brand on the link above, then email the company and they are normally very good at replying to questions about dietary requirements I find.

Take me Home

Leave Vegan Alcohol and go to What do Vegans Eat

Leave Vegan Alcohol and go to the Vegan Food Pyramid