App Shopper: Is Your Beer Vegan? (Lifestyle)

App Activity

Jun 19 '10	Version 2.01
May 12 '10	Version 2.0
Jan 26 '10	Version 1.1
Jan 15 '10	New App: Free, v1.0

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Is Your Beer Vegan?

iOS iPhone

Features:
- Color-coded for easy reference (Green=Vegan, Yellow=Some of the beers produced are vegan but others are not, Red=No beers produced by this manufacturer are vegan)

Is your booze vegan?

It might seem weird at first, but your favorite drink might have more than just alcohol in it.

Brewmasters, winemakers, and distillers may include animal ingredients in their products directly, or they might use them in the processing and filtration.

When making the product, dairy, honey, and other things (including, in one case, a whole chicken dropped in the tank) are ingredients in the final recipe.

When filtering the drinks prior to bottling, companies can use things like isinglass (from fish bladder,) gelatin, egg whites, and sea shells, among other things. These products grab onto the impurities and make it easier to catch them in the filters, though there are many animal-free alternatives in use.

These ingredients don't usually show up on the label, so the only way to find out is to ask.

Information on the veganocity of these beers was provided by Barnivore.com. Go to their website for the most current information, plus information on wines and spirits as well.

Generally speaking, animal products aren't widely used in brewing in the U.S. Many traditionally brewed British or British-style beers, however, do use animal products, most notably isinglass for clarifying.

German beers by law must comply with the Reinheitsgebot, which actually forbids the use of any ingredients other than water, grain, hops, and yeast.

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Stewart, who did the app for VeganYumYum.com, gave me advice & pointed me in the right direction when I got stuck. Also, VeganYumYum has tons of great recipes.