VEGAN OK ALCOHOL once listed by VeganStandards.org has changed their name to http://www.veganproducts.org/drinks.html This list below is the original list, I will modify this page later when I have more time
Cockspur Rum
Cointreau
Croft Sherries
Gilbeys Gin
J&B Scotch Whisky
Jack Daniels
Malibu
Metaxa
Popov Vodka
Romana Sambuca
Sapphire Gin
Singleton Whisky
Smirnoff Vodka
Southern Comfort
Vegan Products & Standards
P.O. Box 917
Santa Cruz, CA 95061
info@VeganProductStandards.org
So.. why wouldn't beer be vegan?
Beer confirmed as vegan
Bitters, etc.
Alloa Light
Alloa 70/- Special
Alloa 80/- Export
Alloa Stout
Batemans IPA
Batemans Nut Brown
Batemans XXXB
Batemans Victory Ale
Batemans Dark Mild
Batemans GB Bitter
Burtonwood Bitter
Burtonwood Mild
Burtonwood Pale Mild
Burtonwood Top Hat Ale
Drybrough Heavy
Drybrough Best Scotch
Felinfoel Bitter
Felinfoel Double Dragon Bitter
Fuller's London Pride
Fuller's Chiswick Bitter
Fuller's Mild
Fuller's ESB Export
Fuller's Pale Ale
Fuller's Brown Ale
Fullers LA
Gale's Southdown Bitter
Gale's Best Bitter
Gale's 777 Mild
Gale's Prize Old Ale
Gale's Pale Ale
Gale's HSB
Golden Promise Organic Beer
Hall & Woodhouse BXB Bitter
H & W Malthouse Bitter
H & W Oasthouse Bitter
H & W Badger Country Bitter
H & W Tanglefoot Bitter
Morrells Friars Bitter
Morrells Castle Ale
Morrells Light Ale
Morrells College Ale
Morrells Brewery Gate Bitter
Redruth Brewery Bitter
Redruth Brewery Mile Ale
Redruth Aston Manor Bitter
Redruth Gold Cap Bitter
Redruth Brewster Bitter
Redruth John Davey Bitter
Robinson's Best Bitter
Ross Brewery Hartcliffe Bitter
Ross Brewery Clifton Dark Ale
Ross Brewery Saxon Ale
Sainsburys Premium Ale
Sam Smiths Old Brewery
Sam Smiths Sovereign Best
Sam Smiths Tadcaster Bitter
Sam Smiths 4X Best Mild
Sam Smiths Dark Mild Ale
Sam Smiths OB Strong Brown
Sam Smiths OB Strong Pale
Sam Smiths Pale Ale
Sam Smiths Light Ale
Sam Smiths Nut Brown
Sam Smiths Strong Golden
Low Alcohol, N/A
AyingerBrau Low Alcohol
Clausen
Greene King Lowes
Marston's Low "C"
Wheelwright Low Alcohol
Wyvern Low Alcoholic
Sharp's
Kingsbury
O'Douls Premium Non-Alcoholic Brew
Lagers
Aston Manor Lager
AyingerBrau
AyingerBrau D. Pils
AyingerBrau Very Strong
Brewster Lager
Budweiser
Burtonwood Dagen
Cornish Pilsner Lager
Henri Funck
Grolsch
Guapa Lager
Hall & Woodhouse Hectors
H & W Forum
H & W Compass
H & W Skona
H & W Royal Hofbrau
Harp
Harp Extra
Heineken Export
Heineken
Holsten Pils
Knight's
Labatt's
Lincoln Green Organic
Lowenbrau Strong
Mousel
Norseman
Pinkus Special Organic
Prinz Strong
Redruth Brewery Pilsner
Sam Smiths Natural Lager
Scorpion Dry
Skol
Tennent's Gold Bier
TQ Lager
Tuborg Gold
US Domestics and/or bottled in the United States
Anderson Valley
Anheuser-Busch
Arrogant Bastard (Stone Brewing Company)
Barley's
Beach
Beck's
Big Dog's Hospitality Group
Blue Ridge
Brick
Carlsberg-Tetley
Columbus
Courage
Dallas County
Dempsey's
Deschutes
Dock Street
Dubuque
Eddie McStiff's
Fremont
Fullers
Genesee Brewing Company
Golden Pacific
Grant's Yakima (but Grant's Apple Honey Ale uses honey)
Greene King
Grolsch
G. Heileman
HighFalls Brewery (Genesee Brewing Company)
Irons
James Page
Jones Street
Lakefront
Latrobe (Rolling Rock)
Les Brasseurs du Nord
Lost Coast
Mad River
Manhattan Beach
Masters Brewpub & Brasserie
Miller
Miracle
Nelson
Nevada City
North Coast
Nouveaux Brasseurs-Bar L'Inox
Odell
Onalaska
Oranjeboom
Otter Creek
Otto Brothers'
Pacific Hop Exchange
Pennsylvania
Pete's
Pyramid Ales
Ragtime Tavern
Rainier
Richbrau
Roslyn
Samuel Smith (except Oatmeal Stout)
San Andreas
Saranac
Scottish & Newcastle
Shan Sui
Sharky's
Shepherd Neame
Sierra Nevada
Silo
Sleeman
Sonoma (Dempsey's)
Spinnakers Brewpub
Sprecher
Star
Steelhead
Stone Brewing Company
Table Rock
Telluride
Thames Valley
Treaty Grounds
Triple Rock
Truckee
Umpqua
Unibroue
Upper Canada
Vaux Brewery
Weeping Radish
Whistler
Whitbread Beer
Woodstock
Young & Co.
Wine confirmed as vegan
Beaujolais, Château de Boisfranc (2001)
Côtes-du-Rhône, Domaine des Cèdres (2000)
Chardonnay, Domaine La Batteuse (2001)
California Chardonnay (1998, Organic Wine Works)
Fetzer Sundial Chardonnay (1998)
Jekel Gravelstone Chardonnay (1997, Monterey)
Limoux, Domaine Delmas (1999)
NV Blanquette de Limoux Brut, Bernard Delmas
Fetzer Barrel Select Chardonnay (1997 )
Fetzer Eagle Peak Merlot (1995/6)
Fetzer Barrel Select Merlot (1996)
Fetzer Viognier (1998)
Port Vintage Character Casal dos Jordoes
NV Cartagène Prestige Vin de Liqueur, Bourguet
Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, Guy Bossard (2001)
Cabernet Sauvignon, Mas de Janiny (2000)
Syrah, Mas de Janiny (2000)
Kenwood Zinfandel (1994)
Sutter Home Zinfandel, Napa Valley (1994/5 )
Sutter Home White Zinfandel, Napa Valley
Cuvee Napa Brut, Mumm (sparkling wine)
Cuvee Napa Rose, Mumm (sparkling wine)
Frey Vineyards Organic and Biodynamic Wine
Cabernet Sauvignon (1998, Organic Wine Works)
a Notre Terre (1998, Organic Wine Works)
Pinot Noir (1998, Organic Wine Works)
California Radical Red (Organic Wine Works)
Great White (Organic Wine Works)
Fume (1997, Organic Wine Works)
Rose Wines (Organic Wine Works)
Grenache Roase (1997, Organic Wine Works)
Liqour confirmed as vegan
Cockspur Rum
Cointreau
Croft Sherries
Gilbeys Gin
J&B Scotch Whisky
Jack Daniels
Malibu
Metaxa
Popov Vodka
Romana Sambuca
Sapphire Gin
Singleton Whisky
Smirnoff Vodka
Southern Comfort
Hard Cider confirmed as vegan
Avalon Vineyard - bottle
Biddenden Vineyards Ciders - bottle
Bulmers (ex Kings Acre) - keg & bottle
Dunkertons Ciders and Perries - bottle
James White Dry - keg & bottle
James White Extra Strong - keg & bottle
Merrydown Original: Dry, Gold, White - bottle
Merrydown Pulse: White
Merrydown Shloer: Apple, Peach, Red Grape, Summer Fruits, White Grape
Merrydown Vintage: Dry, Medium
Newquay Steam Cider - can
Scrumpy Jack - keg
Strongbow - can & bottle
Weston & Sons Cider - keg & bottle
White Lightning - can & bottle
Woodpecker - keg, can & bottle
Wyder's Cider: Pear, Apple, Peach
Contact: info@VeganProductStandards.org (no longer in existance?)
Beer is occassionally fined using isinglass. Happily, most beer is vegan though!
Isinglass is a very pure form of gelatin obtained from fish bladders(often sturgeon). The addition of a fining product simply speeds up a process which would otherwise occur naturally.
What companies make beer that is processed without vegan products?
We've got a long list (above). But that's not all, many other companies also use a vegan process, but we just haven't had a chance to confirm them yet. Keeping up to date with all the microbrews out there is especially challenging, so if you notice any drinks not on our list that you'd like to be drinking, please email us with the company's name and contact info and we'll investigate it for you.
What about wine then?
Unfortunately it seems that many wines are not vegan. It's common to use animal ingridients in the clarification process, such as isinglass (made from fish bladders), gelatin (from animal bones), caseinates (milk proteins), and animal albumin (from eggs or dried blood powder). Non-animal alternatives include limestone, bentonite, kaolin and kieslguhr (clays), plant casein, silica gel, and vegetable plaques. Although the list of wines we've confirmed as vegan is relatively small so far, rest assured that we're just getting started and will be working hard to verify more soon! In the meantime keep in mind that any wine that's labeled as being "Unfined" should be vegan as well.
Don't tell me I can't drink the hard stuff!
You can relax - the production of hard liqour does not generally involve the use of animal substances (Vodka is now filtered using birchwood charcoal instead of with bone char). Campari is not vegan though as it contains cochineal. The below list of companies whose products have been confirmed as vegan is rather small, but one can assume that hard liqour is vegan. Of course, you've always got to be careful of what else they may be putting into that mixed drink!
Cider has got to be vegan though, doesn't it?
Unfortunately, many ciders aren't vegan as a number of large-scale comercial cider companies use animal products in the fining/clarification process. Specifically, some companies use the following non-vegan ingredients: gelatin (from an animal derived source), isinglass, chitin (crab shells), collagen.
Vegan ciders are usually naturally fermented in large oak barrels and allowed to settle over a period of months. Bentonite clay (mined and specially prepared for clarification purposes) or cellulose filter sheets are also sometimes used, to process cider in a vegan way.
Don't many alcohol companies support animal exploitation and abuse?
Unfortunately many do. They've been included on this list despite that, but it doesn't mean you have to drink them! Unfortunately a number of these companies support rodeos, bull-fighting, marine mammal captivity and much more (for example, Anheuser--Busch supports bullfighting through its Corona Beer affiliations, rodeos through Budweiser Beer, and animal captivity at its Sea World and Busch Gardens amusement parks). Many of these companies also use horribly sexist advertising. My advice? Boycott them too!
That's all fine and good, but what if I want to get smashed while I'm out of the country?
Well.. it depends on where you are of course. Many of the beverages listed below are available in other countries. You can also find information on vegan drinking in Britain from the Vegan Society. And you can even buy your wine or champagne from Viva, a vegetarian/vegan activist campaign group there!