Rest easy, beer lovers. If you’re thinking about going vegan anytime soon, there’s no need to ditch your drink. You can uphold your healthy, vegan lifestyle while still enjoying those wonderful, frothy beverages without fear that you’re cheating.
You might be wondering what could possibly be non-vegan in beer, right? It’s not as though there are dairy and meat products mixed in there. Instead, what makes a beer not vegan-friendly are the processing agents used during filtration. To help separate unwanted particles from the brew, some beer companies use animal ingredients, mainly fish bladders—yuck!
However, I bet a lot of your favorite beers are vegan. Many people are unaware that they’re drinking vegan brews because it’s not required to display a list of ingredients on beer labels. But in fact, most beer happens to be vegan. Corona, Heineken, Bud Light, Lagunitas, and Pabst Blue Ribbon are just a few of the most popular vegan approved brews. More of a beer fanatic? You can still maintain your plant-based diet while sipping on certain stouts, IPAs, other pale ales, and Belgian ales!
If you’re stumped as to whether your beer is vegan-friendly or not, where your beer was produced is a good indicator for figuring it out. Opt for American, German, or Belgian beers, and generally stay away from British and Irish beers. However, there is one Irish beer maker that is actually changing their filtration process to attract the booming vegan population: Guinness. After brewing its iconic stout for the past 256 years, they’re developing a new and improved filtration system. So, at the end of 2016, you can enjoy a dark, creamy, fish bladder-free pint of Guinness!
If you ever take the commendable challenge to go vegan, now you know you can still get your (healthy) drink on while having many options to choose from at the bar.