Is beer vegan? The short answer is “Usually yes.” However, occasionally beer is made using cruelly obtained ingredients, such as lactose from cow’s milk meant for baby cows (mostly found in milk stouts and some “smoothie” beers) or honey stolen from bees who produce it as a food source for their hives. Others may be clarified using isinglass (made from fish bladders).

Budweiser stands out as one beer brand you should avoid for something other than its ingredients list. PETA recently uncovered that Anheuser-Busch, which produces Budweiser beer, amputates the tailbones of the famous Clydesdale horses—just so they’ll look a certain way as they pull the beer wagon. This painful, needless cosmetic procedure leaves the horses unable to protect themselves from biting insects and affects their balance, mobility, and ability to communicate.

Luckily, it’s easy to avoid Budweiser as well as beers that contain animal-derived ingredients. Many of the most refreshing beers in stores and at breweries are vegan, and you can use this helpful list as a resource to make a compassionate choice.

Enjoy one of these vegan beers:

Corona

vegan beer corona

Modern Times

Pabst Blue Ribbon

Blue Moon Belgian White

Guinness

Golden Road Point the Way IPA

Anderson Valley Brewing Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

Lagunitas Brewing Company IPA

Goose Island Sofie

Firestone Walker Brewing Company Union Jack IPA

Ommegang Witte Wheat Ale

North Coast Brewing Co. Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

Widmer Brothers Hefe

Sapporo

Paradise Creek Brewery


Here are some other beers suitable for vegans, although the list isn’t all-inclusive: Amstel, Amstel Light, Asahi, 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!


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