Can anyone explain me more about vegan beers?

[Emerson Pereira]

What is the difference between conventional beers for vegans?
I know vegan causes are always in the first place, so they just do not support things that do not mistreat animals and do not use anything animal, it's good. But besides, is there any other difference in being able to consider a "vegan" beer?

Sorry for english, I'm from Brazil.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Beer is generally made from plants and fungus. Sometimes bacteria too.

As far as I know, the only non-vegan things homebrewers may add are: gelatin, isinglass, casein, lactose, or honey.

... But it's homebrew and people can literally add whatever they want. They could toss in a chicken and we wouldn't judge.

 

[Miraculix]

They could toss in a chicken and we wouldn't judge.

But don't kill it, just gently give it a wort bath. Make sure the temperature is right to accommodate your feathery fellow.

Your chicken will be hoppy fresh and you'll have the fresh chicken taste in your beer that everybody is craving for in modern days ipas, while still being perfectly on the vegan side of life!

It's simply amazing!

 

[RPh_Guy]

Yeah, for making a vegan chicken noodle soup beer, just use chicken bath water for brewing. Add a little tofu for texture.

 

[deadwolfbones]

@RPh_Guy mostly got it. Gelatin, isinglass, lactose are the things that usually make beers "non-vegan." Depending on the vegan you're talking to, honey might also be a no-no. (Some vegans are fine with honey.)

Some breweries make a point of labeling their vegan beers with a prominent "This beer is vegan." (Lookin' at you, Modern Times.) Presumably this is because vegans take this stuff really seriously and they don't want to exclude a significant portion of their audience (especially in, say, San Diego and Los Angeles, where Modern Times is based).

 

[IslandLizard]

... and keep the weevils and grain moths out.

 

[Cavpilot2000]

Well, so much for marketing my Mutton Mocha Stout to the local vegan community...

 

[IslandLizard]

They could toss in a chicken and we wouldn't judge.

One of my friends back in the days was a vegan, I'm quite sure she still is. She used vegan chicken soup powder. I must say, it was very good, better than any instant soups I ever had. Now most of those savory instant miracles rely heavily on salt, artificial and natural flavor components (as many as 20-30 per recipe) and MSG, but this one was definitely a few cuts above those.

 

[IslandLizard]

Well, so much for marketing my Mutton Mocha Stout to the local vegan community...

Where does the mutton come in?

 

[Cavpilot2000]

Where does the mutton come in?

I put my mutton right in the mash.
Where do you add yours?

 

[IslandLizard]

I put my mutton right in the mash.
Where do you add yours?

I prefer to dry mutton mine. But I heard aging with mutton is superb.

 

[brewswithshoes]

So, I did the vegan thing for about 14 months as the wife was making the switch. It's impossible for anyone that travels for work.

And if you want to get technical on the vegan terms there is no beer that uses yeast that could be considered vegan as alcohol is a product of a living organism and disqualifies in vegan world. Kinda like milk from cows, honey from bees, etc.

I guess by the real vegan rules I wasn't really vegan those 14 months as I drank a lot of non-milk stouts.

I did lose a crap ton of weight though.

"WAIT, gelato's not vegan?"

 

[RPh_Guy]

I don't make the rules and I'm not vegan,, but I heard single celled organisms are OK.

 

[Soulshine2]

What is the difference between conventional beers for vegans?
I know vegan causes are always in the first place, so they just do not support things that do not mistreat animals and do not use anything animal, it's good. But besides, is there any other difference in being able to consider a "vegan" beer?

Sorry for english, I'm from Brazil.

not sure how beer could be 100% vegan. Its made from grains . I mean unless by some chance its fermented without yeast which is the only living organism in the beer process.

 

[IslandLizard]

And if you want to get technical on the vegan terms there is no beer that uses yeast that could be considered vegan as alcohol is a product of a living organism and disqualifies in vegan world. Kinda like milk from cows, honey from bees, etc.

There are plenty of dietary rules that go beyond veganism and its philosophy.

Although we know she can be a ferocious beast sometimes, since when did yeast join Kingdom Animalia?

 

[Qhrumphf]

I'm a level five vegan. I don't eat anything that casts a shadow.

In all seriousness, other posters have covered it, "beer" is almost always vegan, it's the process stuff that *might* make it not vegan (with a few outliers like beers that use lactose or honey). Isinglass and gelatin (both clarifiers) are the principle offenders.

I have many vegan friends, and at least back in the day there was a big list of commercial beers that were confirmed vegan or not vegan, and said friends were quite excited when Guinness dropped the animal-based process aids and became vegan.

 

[Vale71]

And if you want to get technical on the vegan terms there is no beer that uses yeast that could be considered vegan as alcohol is a product of a living organism and disqualifies in vegan world. Kinda like milk from cows, honey from bees, etc.

More like, "Kinda like anything you could eat in order to stay alive?"
Unless you find a way to only it dirt even as a strict vegan you are going to eat living organisms, either whole or parts thereof. Wait, even dirt is full of microorganisms so by that reasoning to be vegan you'll need to photosinthesize your own nourishment, i.e. you have to become a plant yourself. AFAIK the line is actually drawn at the "animal" kingdom and since yeast is a fungi it's OK to eat and so are its by-products.

One other more strictly ethical issue is that the brewery shouldn't employ anything that is derived from animals, similar to Kosher laws although in that case it's only stuff derived from forbidden animals and not from just any animal. One critical point would be lubricants in the brewhouse machinery. Since that needs to be food-safe it could either have a vegetal or animal origin or even mineral (vaseline). A strict vegan would of course be OK only with non animal-derived products, even if the lubricant couldn't possibly make it into the beer.

Another issue that is probably uncommon in the US but might be common in other countries is caseine-based glue used to attach easy-to-remove labels on reusable bottles. Even if nobody is going to be licking the caseine off the bottles from an ethical standpoint that beer is not OK for vegans.

 

[Pkrd]

... and keep the weevils and grain moths out.

Don't they have the right to be in there if they want?

"No bugs were deprived of grain in the making of this beer"

 

[brewswithshoes]

More like, "Kinda like anything you could eat in order to stay alive?"
Unless you find a way to only it dirt even as a strict vegan you are going to eat living organisms, either whole or parts thereof. Wait, even dirt is full of microorganisms so by that reasoning to be vegan you'll need to photosinthesize your own nourishment, i.e. you have to become a plant yourself. AFAIK the line is actually drawn at the "animal" kingdom and since yeast is a fungi it's OK to eat and so are its by-

Agreed. My post was mocking the "rules of veganism". I've heard some argue that using manure for plant fertilizer violates the "rules"

It's all subjective to whatever belief the individual feels is the appropriate level.

I would classify any beer without lactose/milk derivatives as vegan.

Oh wait, bacon beers. Grrrrrr, nevermind, carry on here........

 

[Soulshine2]

cavemen would be shaking their sloped heads if they knew what generations of their ancestors were calling food.