Is beer vegan? The short answer is usually yes. However, occasionally, cruelly obtained ingredients are used in beer, such as cow’s milk (mostly in milk stouts) or bee’s honey. A few beers are also clarified using isinglass (made from fish bladders). Bees produce honey as a food source to keep their hives alive during the winter, and honey production robs them of their creation and replaces it with less nutritious sugar water. Loving mother cows produce milk for their babies, who are stolen from them shortly after they’re born in the dairy industry. It’s always wrong to use an animal and steal the food sources they work hard to produce for their loved ones. Luckily, many of the most refreshing beers are totally vegan.
If you’re looking for the best vegan beers to enjoy while you’re staying at home during the pandemic, we’ve got you covered. Use this helpful list as a resource to make sure that you’re not unknowingly consuming any beers with animal-derived ingredients, then feel free to crack open a cold one.
Safe at home? Enjoy one of these vegan beers:
1. Corona
2. Modern Times
3. Pabst Blue Ribbon
4. Blue Moon Belgian White
5. Guinness
6. Golden Road Point the Way IPA
7. Anderson Valley Brewing Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout
8. Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
9. Lagunitas Brewing Company IPA
10. Goose Island Sofie
11. Firestone Walker Brewing Company Union Jack IPA
12. Ommegang Witte Wheat Ale
13. North Coast Brewing Co. Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
14. Widmer Brothers Hefe
15. Sapporo
16. Paradise Creek Brewery
Here are some other beers suitable for vegans, although the list isn’t all-inclusive: Amstel, Amstel Light, Asahi, Budweiser, Coors, Dos Equis, Heineken, Keystone, Keystone Light, Kirin, Miller, Modelo, Negra Modelo, Newcastle, Pacifico, Samuel Adams Boston Lager, and Yuengling.
Beers Produced With Isinglass
- Red Stripe: When brewed in Jamaica, this beer uses isinglass, but Red Stripe brewed in Europe does not.
Pro tip: At a bar and want to search a specific beer? Type the name into the Barnivore database for fast answers.
Please use this guide only if you’re of legal drinking age and always drink responsibly!