Is Beer Vegan? How To Tell If Beer Is Vegan Or Not

When going vegan, we're often conscious of replacing meat, dairy and eggs with plant-based options... but we don't often consider our favorite beer might not be vegan. 

In this article we'll explore your favorite brewskis, tinnies, and crafts and answer once and for all which beers are vegan, and how you can find out for yourself - so let's "hop" right in.

We looked into the most consumed beers in America and studied their ingredients. So, from Corona to Coors, here's your favorite beers and whether they're vegan-friendly or not.

Yes. Our favorite Mexican beer, Corona, is vegan. In fact, all Corona beers from original, refresca, even their hard seltzer is all 100% vegan.

Yes. Miller beers are all 100% vegan-friendly.

Yes. The iconic Bud beers are 100% vegan-friendly.

Yes, Coors, including Coors Light is vegan in the United States. However, the UK version of Coors Light is not vegan-friendly.

Most Blue Moon beers are vegan, including their Pale Moon and Belgium White flavors. However, their Honey Wheat and Mango Wheat flavors are not vegan.

Yes. Vegans can knock back a Guinness on St. Patrick's Day in true Irish fashion as well as anyone.

Yes. All Heineken beers are 100% vegan.

Unlike many food and drink products, finding out if a beer is vegan isn't as easy. Luckily, there's a useful resource for telling if a beer, wine or spirit is vegan called Barnivore.

Barnivore provides a fully comprehensive list of all the vegan beers available to you, you can go to the Barnivore beer list, which goes into detail about pretty much every beer available worldwide, citing references from representatives of the companies themselves that verify the vegan-ness (veganicity?) of their various products.

When most of us think of beer, we think "hops, barely, yeast, wheat, and maybe some fruit". 

It doesn't occur to us that fish parts or cow hooves could be present in our cold brew. In fact, substances like isinglass is harvested from the swim-bladders of fish (generally sturgeon) that have been harvested for food. 

It's more common in European beers than North American ones (like Guinness), and it's used to stabilize the beer's head (foam) and clarify the liquid. 

It seems that the collagen within the isinglass is what helps to clarify the beer, and another source of this collagen is gelatin from the hooves, hides and bones of farm animals. 

Egg whites and sea shells are also used by some to assist in the filtration and clarification process. 

Some beer is also then filtered through bone char (yes, just what it sounds like: burnt bones) to remove impurities and any left over floaty bits. 

The tricky part is these ingredients are rarely found on any beer label. In fact, even researching these beers ingredients quickly becomes an arduous task for most. 

Some beer manufacturers, like Heineken, have brewing methods that involve no animal ingredients or by-products, and as such are fully vegan. 

Other popular brands like Corona, Beck's, and the Anheuser-Busch beers (like Stella Artois and Budweiser), are all vegan as well. 

Here's a toast: to glasses of golden goodness brewed by master craftspeople, with no injury to our animal friends. 

May your holidays be full of brightness and peace. I think we can all cheers to that.

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