8th March 2019

Is Beer Vegan? Our list of Vegan friendly beers

You might be wondering is Beer Vegan? Or What about cider?

Well we have some good news. In short, Yes, some beverages are… see our table of vegetarian and vegan beer  by scrolling to the bottom of this page!

Firstly, before you read any further, it’s worth noting that although some beers aren’t vegetarian, you’re not about to find a pig’s trotter in your pint! This is because some beers use a product called Isinglass as part of the filtering process, and Isinglass is obtained from dried fish bladders. Anyway…

internal view of a brewery

 

Vegan Popularity and Rise in Vegetarianism

As part of the hospitality sector, the pub industry is directly involved in the trends of food and drink. Right now, Britain is experiencing a renaissance in Foodie culture. British Gin is still booming and interest in street food, veganism, unusual meat cuts and of course, Craft Ale is at an all-time high.

Television shows like ‘The Great British Bake Off’ and ‘MasterChef’ are hugely successful with critics and the public and have multiple formats of the same show. These shows dominate their respective time slots. The public are lapping up exciting cooking techniques, unusual ingredients and embracing different diets. Programmes like ‘Sunday Brunch’, ‘The One Show’ and even ‘Countryfile’ regularly feature segments on food trends, produce and peoples changing attitudes to veganism.

Brown cow stood in a field on a sunny day

People are caring more about where produce comes from

This shows that large portions of Britain has moved away from freezer meals, or the ‘Meat & Two Veg’ mentality, and so has the beer world.

Beer Attitudes are changing

Where once the main practice was using Isinglass finings in the filtering process, a lot of brewers have embraced new technology and changing attitudes to make their beers vegetarian and vegan. This isn’t just smaller enterprises either. In 2015 Guinness announced plans to go Vegan, and by 2018, they had achieved just that. That’s not to say brewers are turning their back on traditionalism, they are embracing and adapting to a change in society.

Guinness marketing graphic with pump

Guinness went Vegan in 2018 after 259 years of Brewing

Remember: The difference between Vegetarianism and Veganism is the use of Animal product. For example, a vegetarian might wear leather or eat honey or cheese whilst having a meat free diet. Someone who identifies as Vegan wouldn’t and avoids all animal produce and products including honey, dairy, leather, etc.

Interest in vegetarian and vegan beers has skyrocketed in recent years. With more and more people being increasingly diet conscious, and many myths of veganism being debunked, it’s easy to understand why vegan beers have experienced a wave of popularity. The surge in wanting to know the provenance of produce and their origins has been rampant. You don’t need to be a Michelin starred Chef to be aware that the public’s attitude is changing. Customers want to know where their meat comes from, which Farm or Butchers, and how the animal was raised. This also appears to be part of a wider consciousness around healthier eating and eating in a more sustainable way.

But which beers and ciders are vegan or vegetarian? We’ve made an easy list for you of some of our stock.

List of Vegan and Vegetarian Friendly Beers

DRAUGHT BEER/CIDER Vegetarian Vegan
Carling 4.0% NO NO
Carlsberg (All UK Products) YES YES
Fosters 4.0% NO NO
Tennents Lager YES YES
Esteem Lagers
Amstel 4.1% NO NO
Beck’s Vier 4.0% YES YES
Coors Light 4.0% YES YES
Pravha 4.0% NO NO
Stella Artois 4.0% YES YES
Premium Lagers
Budweiser 4.3% YES YES
Kronenbourg 1664 NO NO
Stella Artois 4.8% YES YES
World Lagers
Birra Moretti 4.6% YES YES
Cobra 4.3% YES YES
Estrella Damm 4.6% YES YES
Grolsch 5.0% YES YES
Heineken 5.0% YES YES
Peroni 5.0% YES YES
San Miguel 5.0% YES YES
Staropramen 5.0% NO NO
Craft Lagers
Asahi Super Dry 5.2% YES YES
Hop House 13 5.0% YES YES
Meantime London 4.5% YES YES
Draught Stout ABV
Guinness 4.1% YES YES
Youngs London Stout 4.3% NO NO
Classic Cider
Bulmers Strongbow 4.5% NO NO
Bulmers Woodpecker 4.0% NO NO
Magners Original 4.5% NO NO
Premium Cider
Aspall Cyder 5.5% YES YES
Strongbow Cloudy Apple 4.5% YES YES
Symonds Founders Reserve 4.5% YES YES
Thatchers Gold 4.8% YES YES
Thatchers Haze 4.5% YES YES

Please note: The Vegan status of these products could change and is out of the control of Trust Inns. We’ll do our best to update any changes if they occur. All information is correct to the best of the authors knowledge, as of March 2019.

Enjoyed this article? We have another article on lagers from across the world that you might be interested in.

If you’re interested in finding out more about alcoholic beverages, the pub trade or Industry advice then please keep an eye over our blog as we regularly update it. Thanks for Reading!


         

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