Vegan Beer: Who Makes it and Where to Find It

Water, grain, malt, hops and yeast may not be the only ingredients used in the production of your favorite brew. Did you know that the process might also include animal-derived products such as glycerin, casein, isinglass or even bugs? Many breweries use animal products as fining (clarifying) agents, foaming agents, coloring and flavoring, which means that their beers are not suitable for vegans, or most vegetarians.

Here are just a few of the animal products that might be making your beer not-so-vegan-friendly:

Isinglass - fining made from swim bladders of fish

Casein or Caseinate - fining made from milk protein

Egg Albumen or Animal Albumen - fining made from egg whites and/or dried animal blood

Glycerin or Glyceryl Monostearate - anti-foaming agent made from animal fat

Charcoal - filtering agent that is sometimes made from animal bones

White Sugar - for commercial use, generally whitened using bone charcoal, aka bone char

Gelatin - fining agent made from the connective tissues and bones of animals

Insects - used for coloring agents

Pepsin - foaming agent that sometimes is made from pork

Honey - flavoring and sweetener made by bees

If you are vegan or vegetarian, or have vegan or vegetarian friends, finding beer suitable for their consumption is not as hard as, say, finding vegan wine, but it can still be a bit of challenge - particularly since brewers do not have to list these ingredients on the label.

Most German, Belgian and U.S. beers are vegan, but beware of beers from the UK, where many - but not all - brewers use traditional methods that involve isinglass as a fining. Some brewers worldwide use casein or gelatin as a fining and some use glycerin to control the consistency of foam. But, there are many very popular brewers who do, in fact, make great vegan beer.

If you aren't looking for specialty beers, you can find vegan beers made by some of the biggest and most well-known brewers in the U.S., like Anheuser-Busch (Budweiser), Miller Brewing Company and Sierra Nevada. Other popular, easy to find beers by Beck's, Heineken, Samuel Adams, Moosehead and Shiner are also vegan - as long as you avoid their honey beers.

There are also many local and smaller breweries that use a vegan process for their beers, so specialty vegan beers are not all that hard to find. You just need to know the brands to look for. Of course, if you go to a natural foods store or a store like Whole Foods Market, it will be easier to find a larger selection of vegan beers, but if you do a little homework before heading out to stock up for your next party, you should have no trouble finding vegan and vegetarian beers that will suit everyone's palate.

The following websites have Vegan Beer Guides to assist in your search for the perfect (and animal-friendly) brew.

Vegan Connection

Vegan Vanguard

Taste Better!