Many people are surprised to learn that most beer and lager isn’t vegan, or that it isn’t even vegetarian!
Wait, is there meat in beer? Well no… But there may be fish.
Sometimes, beer and lager are strained through something called isinglass, which is the dried-up swim bladders of fish. Nice.
If you’re vegan, vegetarian, or would just prefer your beer without a serving of fish guts, then read on to find out which beers are vegan.
How to know if beer is vegan
Knowing whether beer or larger contains fish or not isn’t easy. If you ask at the bar in a pub, unless you have a vegan bartender, they’re unlikely to know. In the supermarket, you won’t be able to tell from the label. Even searching online for this information is tricky as you may find huge lists of every brand of beer in existence.
That’s why I put together this list of the most popular beers in the UK and whether they are suitable for vegans and vegetarians. So that when you walk into a pub or off-license, you’ll know what to go for…
Vegan Beer List (UK)
This list refers to beers and lagers that you can buy in the UK. In other countries, different ingredients may be used.
| Beer brand | Is it vegan? |
|---|---|
| Amstel | VEGAN |
| Beck’s | VEGAN |
| Birra Moretti | VEGAN |
| Budweiser | VEGAN |
| Camden Hells | VEGAN |
| Carling | NOT VEGAN |
| Carlsberg | VEGAN |
| Cobra | VEGAN |
| Coors Light | NOT VEGAN |
| Corona | VEGAN |
| Desperados | VEGAN |
| Estrella Damm | VEGAN |
| Foster’s | NOT VEGAN |
| Grolsch | VEGAN |
| Guinness | VEGAN |
| Heineken | VEGAN |
| Kronenbourg 1664 | NOT VEGAN |
| Miller | VEGAN |
| Peroni | VEGAN |
| Red Stripe | VEGAN |
| San Miguel | VEGAN |
| Skol | VEGAN |
| Sol | VEGAN |
| Stella Artois | VEGAN |
| Tiger Beer | VEGAN |
What beer is not vegan?
As most beers and lagers and suitable for vegans, it’s easier to remember which beers are not vegan.
The popular beers that UK vegans should avoid are:
- Carling
- Coors Light
- Foster’s
- Kronenbourg 1664
Which beers are vegan in the UK?
Sometimes, a particular beer might be vegan-friendly in the UK, but not in other countries, and vice versa. This is because beer is often brewed locally and different breweries around the world may use different processing techniques and ingredients.
Read on for more details about which veers and lagers are vegan in the UK and whether they’re vegan worldwide as well…
Is Amstel vegan?
Amstel beer is suitable for vegans and vegetarians as it does no animal-derived ingredients are used in its production. Amstel, Amstel Light and Amstel Radler are all vegan-friendly.
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Is Beck’s vegan?
All Beck’s beer is vegan and vegetarian as it doesn’t contain any animal ingredients. Beck’s, Beck’s Blue, Beck’s Gold and Beck’s Vier are all suitable for vegans.
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Is Birra Moretti vegan?
Birra Moretti is suitable for vegans and vegetarians. It has been brewed without isinglass or any other animal ingredients since 1859.
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Is Budweiser vegan?
Budweiser and Bud Light are both vegan and vegetarian-friendly as they do not contain any animal-derived ingredients.
The only Budweiser drink which isn’t vegan or vegetarian is Budweiser & Clamato Chelada. Available in the US, this unusual canned drink is a pre-mixed cocktail of Budweiser beer, tomato juice and clams, which are a type of shellfish. Nice!
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Is Camden Hells vegan?
Camden Hells beer is suitable for vegans and vegetarians. The Camden Town Brewery doesn’t use any finings when brewing its beers.
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Is Carling vegan?
Carling and Carling Premier are not suitable for vegans or vegetarians. This is because Carling uses isinglass findings which are made from fish swim bladders during the production of its lager.
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Is Carlsberg vegan?
Carlsberg lager is suitable for vegans and vegetarians. No animal ingredients are used in the production of Carlsberg.
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Is Cobra beer vegan?
Cobra beer is suitable for vegans and it has been approved by the Vegetarian Society. All products, including Cobra Premium, King Cobra, Cobra Zero and Cobra Gluten Free are vegan-friendly.
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Is Coors Light vegan?
Coors Light is not suitable for vegans or vegetarians in the UK. However, Coors and Coors Light are suitable for vegans in the United States and Canada. This is because of differences in how the beer is filtered.
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Is Corona beer vegan?
Corona beer is suitable for vegans and vegetarians. It’s made with natural products like water, rice, hops, corn starch and yeast. No animal products are used in the production of Corona.
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Is Desperados vegan?
The tequila-flavoured lager, Desperados, is suitable for vegans and vegetarians. It’s a myth that tequila isn’t vegan because it contains a worm, as tequila doesn’t actually contain any worms so both tequila and Desperados beer are vegan-friendly.
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Is Estrella Damm vegan?
Estrella Damm is vegan-friendly. It’s made from only natural ingredients like barley malt, rice and hops and the production does not use any animal products.
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Is Foster’s vegan?
Unfortunately, Foster’s lager in the UK is not suitable for vegans or vegetarians. However, the Foster’s that’s produced in Australia and the USA is suitable for vegans and vegetarians as it’s made by a different brewer, using a different process that doesn’t require the use of isinglass.
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Is Grolsch vegan?
Most varieties of Grolsch lager are suitable for vegans. The exceptions are Grolsch Winterbok and Grolsch Blonde Saison. These are not vegan-friendly as they contain honey.
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Is Guinness vegan?
Guinness is suitable for vegans and has been since 2018 when the filtration process was changed to no longer use fish bladders. All types of draft, bottled and canned Guinness is vegan-friendly, including Guinness Draft, Guinness Extra Stout and Guinness Foreign Extra Stout.
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Is Heineken vegan?
Heineken lager is suitable for vegans and vegetarians as it does not contain any animal ingredients or use any animal products in the filtration process.
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Is Kronenbourg 1664 vegan?
The Kronenbourg beer that’s brewed in the UK is not suitable for vegans or vegetarians as the filtration process uses isinglass (fish bladders). However, Kronenbourg that’s available in France and Australia is vegan-friendly.
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Is Miller beer vegan?
All Miller beers are vegan-friendly, including Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Lite and Miller High Life.
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Is Peroni vegan?
All types of Peroni beer are vegan, including Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Peroni Red, Peroni Ambra and Peroni Gluten Free.
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Is Red Stripe vegan?
Red Stripe beer is suitable for vegans and vegetarians when it is brewed in the UK. However, the Red Stripe that’s brewed in Jamaica is not vegan-friendly as it uses isinglass (fish bladders) as part of the filtration process.
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Is San Miguel vegan?
San Miguel beer is suitable for vegans and vegetarians as it does not contain any animal-derived ingredients and does not use animal products in the production process.
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Is Skol vegan?
SKOL Beer, SKOL Lager and SKOL Super are all suitable for vegans and vegetarians. Brewed by the Carlsberg Group, these beers do not use any animal products during production.
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Is Sol beer vegan?
Sol beer is suitable for vegans and vegetarians. Brewed by Heineken, this beer does not use any animal products such as isinglass in the clarification process.
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Is Stella Artois vegan?
All Stella lagers are suitable for vegans and vegetarians including Stella Artois Midnight Lager, Solstice Lager and alcohol-free lager. When it comes to cider, Stella Artois Pear Cidre is vegan, but the Apple Cidre is not vegan-friendly as it contains isinglass (fish).
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Is Tiger beer vegan?
Tiger beer is vegan-friendly as it is not brewed using any animal ingredients such as isinglass. However, vegans and vegetarians should be aware that there is a potential for cross-contamination with other drinks that do use animal products.
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To conclude
Luckily, most beers and lagers are suitable for vegetarians. When choosing vegan beers, it doesn’t make any difference whether you go for draught, cans or bottles. However, when travelling you should be aware that the production process may be different outside of the UK.
The beers that vegans should avoid are the cheaper lagers such as Carling, Kronenbourg, Foster’s and Coors Light.