Is All Alcohol Vegan? A Comprehensive Look at Wine, Beer, and Spirits
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Meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, cheese, butter, honey: these are just some of things vegans eliminate from their diet. Most vegans also eliminate any byproducts derived from animals or insects, including ones used during food processing. But what about alcohol? Are wine, beer, liquor, and spirits vegan-friendly?
While some people assume that all alcoholic beverages are vegan, this isn’t entirely true. In this post, we’ll explore what types of alcohol are vegan and provide recommendations for vegan drinks. Let’s dive in!
Well, yes and no. Some alcoholic beverages are vegan, and some aren’t. There are two reasons some alcohol isn’t vegan:
Some alcoholic beverages may contain ingredients with an animal product. For instance, milk may be used in a White Russian cocktail or eggs in Advocaat, and mead is made from honey.
Some alcoholic beverages use animal products during the process of fermentation. For instance, animal-derived foods are often used as “fining agents'' to help remove impurities and improve the clarity, flavor, and aroma of alcoholic beverages.
These are some of the more common non-vegan ingredients and fining agents used in alcohol:
Most beer is vegan. Many popular beer brands are made from four main ingredients, all of which are vegan: water, a grain like barley or wheat, yeast, and hops — a flower that provides beer’s distinct, bitter taste.
Here are some more specific types of vegan beer:
This list is by no means exhaustive! Many other beers on the market are vegan, including many craft beers. For instance, most West Coast IPAs, Belgian Abbey Ales, and other craft beers are vegan.
Certain types of beers aren’t vegan, as they use some of the non-vegan ingredients listed above, such as isinglass, gelatin, whey, lactose, and honey:
Sometimes, young beers can look cloudy. While the beer naturally becomes clearer over time, beer manufacturers add refining agents, such as gelatin and isinglass to aid the filtering. While these refining agents are removed afterwards, small amounts of gelatin and isinglass may have been absorbed in the beer.
So, what about wine — is wine vegan? Not always.This is because of a process called “fining.” Similar to young beer, shortly after wine is produced, it can appear cloudy. While this isn’t harmful to consumers, most of us like our wine to appear as clear as possible. Interestingly, wine can be filtered naturally, but it takes a long time to get to vintage wine level. So manufacturers tend to speed up the fining process using fining agents, many of which aren’t vegan.
The most common animal products used for the fining process include isinglass, gelatin, albumin, and casein. Winemakers use different clarifying agents for various resious. Some are better suited for white wine, while others are better for red.
While this list is by no means exhaustive, most wines from the following brands aren’t vegan:
Vegan wines do exist, and more and more manufacturers are starting to make them. Instead of using animal-derived products for the fining process, vegan wines use clay-based fining agents, such as bentonite, or proteins derived from wheat, corn, legumes, potatoes, or other plants.
These are some of the more popular vegan wines:
We can also enjoy a 100% organic and vegan prosecco from Bellissima Prosecco. Christie Brinkley’s eco approach means that even the packaging uses organic ink and environmentally-friendly material.
Again, this list is by no means exhaustive, but these are some of the widely known vegan wines.
So, what about liquors and spirits? Is vodka vegan? Unlike beer and wine, spirits rely on a process called distillation, in which alcohol is concentrated from fermented ingredients. They are usually free of animal-based ingredients. Nearly all unflavored hard liquors — including bourbon, whiskey, vodka, gin, tequila, and rum — are vegan.
Keep in mind, however, that non-vegan ingredients may be added to spirits when making cocktails. Watch out for these potentially non-vegan spirits and cocktails:
Determining whether wines or beers are vegan can be challenging. While some companies list ingredients voluntarily, it’s not mandatory in the United States or Europe for most alcoholic beverages. Substances that have been used during processing and later removed, such as isinglass and gelatin, seldom make it onto labels.
Here are some tips for determining whether certain types of alcohol are vegan:
Go online: You can easily find a list of vegan-friendly brands on popular websites. Barnivore in particular catalogs the vegan status of over 47,000 alcoholic beverages, including beers and wines. A simple Google search can also do the trick.
So, can vegans drink alcohol? Yes! There are plenty of vegan drinks out there, and more manufacturers are making their alcoholic beverages vegan-friendly. Some manufacturers are even eliminating the filtration process altogether, in favor of allowing the process of clarification to occur naturally. Many liquor stores now carry a great selection of vegan-friendly liquors, making different options easy to find.
As for ordering drinks at restaurants and bars, always make sure to ask if they have vegan alcoholic beverages available. You might be surprised: some places have their own vegan-friendly drinks menu!
Furthermore, if you order a cocktail, make sure to ask what’s in the cocktail. For instance, ask which milk is used in a pina colada. Traditional pina coladas are made with coconut milk, but some bars use cow milk since it’s cheaper.
Similarly, many trendy cocktails, such as whiskey sours, contain egg whites. You can always ask the bartender to omit the egg whites. They might even have aquafaba as a substitute.
The bottom line is that while many alcoholic beverages are naturally vegan, some include animal products as ingredients or during processing. For those of us following a strict vegan diet, it’s best to avoid products without a vegan label or to double check with the manufacturer. Thankfully, more manufacturers are making vegan-friendly alcoholic beverages.
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1. Is alcohol vegan?
Some alcohol is vegan; some alcohol is not. It depends on whether the drink contains animal-derived ingredients or fining agents. Most of the time, beer is vegan. Wines are not always vegan. And nearly all liquors are vegan.
2. Can vegans drink alcohol?
Yes! There are plenty of vegan drinks out there and more manufacturers are making their alcoholic beverages vegan-friendly.
3. What non-vegan ingredients should I look out for?
Some of the more common non-vegan ingredients and fining agents used in alcohol include milk and cream, whey, casein, lactose, honey, eggs, isinglass, gelatin, cochineal, carmine, and chitin.
4. How can I tell whether my alcohol is vegan?
Always be sure to check the label, ask the manufacturer, or go online to a site like Barnivore, which catalogs thousands of vegan alcoholic beverages. If you’re at a restaurant or bar, ask if they have a vegan-friendly alcohol list or ask what ingredients they use in certain cocktails.
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