Wines, Beers, Spirits

Introduction
The use of animal derived products in the production of alcoholic beverages is fairly widespread not because no alternatives exist, but because they always have been used and there is little demand from the consumer for an alternative. The main obstacle when trying to judge the acceptability to vegetarians of any given product is a clause in the 1984 Food Labelling Regulations (UK) which exclude from the 1984 Food Act all drinks with an alcohol content exceeding 1.2% by volume (ABV), leaving only very low or non-alcoholic beers, wines and ciders being required to list all ingredients. The main appearance of animal derived products is in the fining or clearing process, though others may be used as colorants or anti-foaming agents.

Beer
Cask-conditioned ales need fining to clear the material (especially the yeast) held in suspension in the liquid. This is invariably done by adding isinglass, derived from the swim bladders of certain tropical fish especially the Chinese sturgeon, which acts as a falling suspension. If you were to hold a pint of real ale up to the light and see cloudy lumps swirling around that would suggest that the cask had been recently disturbed and the isinglass shaken up from the bottom. Bottled naturally conditioned beers will not always have been treated with isinglass. Keg Beers and Lagers are pasteurised and usually passed through Chill Filters, as are canned beers and some bottled beers, however a considerable number of breweries still use isinglass to clear their pasturised beers, though sometimes only to rescue selected batches which are considered too hazey. Also occasionally the sometimes animal derived additive Glyceryl Monostearate is used in place of 900 Dimethylpolysiloxane as a foam-control agent in the production of keg beers.

It is sometimes possible to buy barrels of cask-conditioned beer from a brewery before it has been fined. The beer would then have to be left for a considerable time to stand before consumption. To our knowledge, only one pub in England sells unfined real ale on draught: The Cumberland Arms in Byker, Newcastle on Tyne.

Cider
Most of the main brands of cider will have been fined using gelatine. Scrumpy type ciders are less likely to have been fined.

Wine
With wine, it is again in the fining process that animal derived ingredients make an appearance. Finings can be isinglass, gelatin, egg albumen, modified casein (from milk), chitin (derived from the shells of crabs or lobsters) or ox blood (rarely used today). But alternatives do exist in the form of bentonite, kieselguhr, kaolin and silica gel or solution. Also newer methods such as centrefuging and filtering are becoming more popular. The majority of organic wines do not use animal derived finings, but some do. Thorson's Organic Wine Guide by Jerry Lockspeiser and Jackie Gear, lists those wines which are suitable. You might like to note that the Wine Development Board claim that the fining agents are removed at the end of the process with the possible exception of very minute quantities.

Spirits
Most spirits appear to be acceptable to vegetarians, with the possible exception of Malt Whisky, some blended whiskies and Spanish Brandies which have been conditioned in casks which had previously held sherry which may have been treated with animal derived finings. (Brandy itself is not produced from wine which has undergone any fining processes). Also some imported Vodkas may have been passed through a bone charcoal filter.

Fortified Wines
All ports except crusted port are fined using gelatin. Sherry should be treated in a similar way to wine.

Colorants
E120 cochineal produced by extracting the red body material from pregnant scale insects of the species Dactilopius Coccus is used as a colorant in a small number of red wines, soft drinks and Campari.

Source: The Vegetarian Society

Guides and Directories

The following website: www.veggiewines.co.uk is a highly recommended resource, with lots of great info plus a comprehensive list of wines, beers, spirits and mixers that are suitable for vegans.

Outside of the UK, another great site with a guide to vegan alcohol is www.barnivore.com which contains a massive directory and a useful FAQ.

A list of vegan wines, beers and other drinks can also be found in The Vegan Society’s Animal Free Shopper online. You need to create an account to search but it only takes a minute and is free. www.animalfreeshopper.com

A very comprehensive FAQ containing everything you ever wanted to know about vegan wine can also be found here: http://vegans.frommars.org/wine/faq.php

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