OnTap Magazine

A round the world, veganism is rising in popularity, and when a food chain like Burger King SA launches a plant-based Whopper and vegan nuggets, it’s clear that even meat-loving South Africa isn’t escaping this trend. So whether you’re a diehard vegan, you’re thinking about signing up to try “Veganuary”, or you’re just a curious beer drinker, you may be asking yourself: “is this beer vegan?” For ethical, health or environmental reasons, vegans avoid using any animal products, including food items like meat, dairy and eggs, and clothing materials like fur, wool and leather. Looking at this list, you might assume that most beer is naturally vegan. Beer connoisseurs will know some of the rich history behind their favourite drink, including Duke Wilhelm IV's 1516 “Reinheitsgebot”, a decree that, among other things, limited beer ingredients to just barley, hops and water. While that decree is no longer law in Germany, most beers are still made with only four ingredients: water, malted grains, hops and yeast. Non-vegan beers initially appear to be quite easy to identify: milk stouts and sweet stouts contain lactose – a sugar derived from dairy, and beers that get any of their sugar content from honey are not vegan (yes - if it’s from a bee it’s technically not vegan). However, increasing numbers of craft brewers are adding lactose (the unfermentable milk sugar traditionally used to make milk stouts) to other types of beer to make the beer sweeter or more full-bodied. This can make identifying non-vegan beers more difficult, although in some cases, like the recent ‘milkshake IPA’ phenomenon, the name still gives it away. If a beer is on the sweeter, fuller-bodied side of the spectrum, there is a good chance it contains lactose. HIDDEN INGREDIENTS There are very few other non-vegan ingredients being added to beer, but there is a lot more to beer than just its ingredients. How a beer is processed makes a significant difference to the final product - and it’s when we look at the processing aids that we find some hidden animal products that disqualify some beers from being vegan-friendly. A few hundred years ago, ceramic mugs started to lose favour to more modern glassware, and at the same time lighter coloured beers were becoming more popular. This meant that beer drinkers could now see what they were drinking, and clearer beer was preferred over murky beer. Brewers started to add fining agents, materials that bind to the substances that cause cloudiness in beer, to clarify their beer and give it the clear, brilliant look we are used to in most modern beers. Traditionally, isinglass, a substance obtained from the dried swim bladders of fish (clearly not vegan), was the most used fining agent, and although most brewers have moved away from this ingredient, it is still used today. Other non-vegan fining agents used in beer processing include egg whites, bovine gelatin, chitin (a fibre obtained from crustaceans) and casein (a milk protein). Some brewers also use an additive called glycerol monostearate, which is often derived from animal fat, to aid with head retention. Nowadays, most beer brands either use non-animal derived fining agents like clay, limestone or carbon, or they make use of a clarifying device like a filtration system or a centrifuge. These options are not necessarily used to cater for vegans, but rather because they are easier to work with and produce a more consistent final product. Some interesting products that have been developed specifically to be vegan-friendly include milk stouts made using ingredients derived from soy, almond or coconut milk instead of lactose from dairy, and honey beer (and even mead), made with agave syrup instead of actual honey. THE VEGAN SEAL Knowing most of the ingredients and processing aids that may prevent your beer from being vegan is one thing, but where do you look to check if these products are present? Alcohol labels won’t contain information on ingredients that don’t make it into the final beverage such as fining agents, so just reading a label won’t necessarily get you very far. Recently some brewers have specifically been adding a vegan label to their products, and now that V-Label (Europe’s largest vegan accreditation) has a team in South Africa endorsing local products, this should be an easy and trusted way for more brewers to have their beer certified as vegan. For those who drink spirits, things are easy; virtually all distilled alcohol - vodka, whiskey, gin, brandy, cane etc. - are vegan; it’s only when these are used to make cream-based liqueurs, or if they mention honey in the label that they wouldn’t qualify. For beer – and for wine and cider which share many of the issues mentioned above – a little more homework may be required if there is no vegan stamp on the label. The simplest solution is to consult one of the many directories that record whether products are vegan or not; in the case of alcohol, barnivore.com has the biggest international alcohol directory, and vegansa.com has a long list of local options. The only other way to find out if your beer is vegan would be to contact the brewer directly and ask whether any of the animal-derived ingredients or processing aids mentioned above (or any others) have been used in their beer. Veganuary is a non-profit organisation that encourages people worldwide to try a vegan lifestyle for January and beyond. During the 2021 campaign, more than 500,000 people took the pledge to try a vegan diet, while more than 825 new vegan products and menu options were launched in key campaign countries. Throughout the year, Veganuary encourages and supports people and businesses alike to move to a plant-based diet as a way of protecting the environment, preventing animal suffering and improving the health of millions of people. For more check out www.veganuary.com You might assume that most beer is naturally vegan ontapmag.co.za | Summer 2021 | 25