Corona, Carlton Draught, VB: Which of your favourite beers are vegan?

In our exclusive, searchable list of popular beers, we reveal which beers are vegan-friendly. See how your brew stacks up.

Is your pint of choice vegan?

It depends on who you ask.

BWS is the one of the first major Australian retailers to call out which of the products they stock are vegan, according to what the brewers declare.

In our exclusive, searchable list of 85 popular beers, this includes just 26 vegan-safe options identified by BWS.

But the companies that brew them claim that almost every one of their popular brews do not contain animal products, with the exception of special releases that may use lactose or honey, such as Matilda Bay’s Honey Wheat Beer or Pirate Life’s Vanilla Malt Thickshake IPA.

In the past, the use of fish bladder protein called isinglass was the most common fining agent used in the brewing process to make the beer appear less cloudy.

According to BWS and brewers, this practice has become less common in recent years, with vegan-friendly alternatives like dry-powered seaweed or Irish moss used instead.

However, it is not a requirement for brewing companies to declare if they still use isinglass in their products, as it is not considered an allergen.

“If the brewer has made the beer using vegan fining agents and this is something they have made us aware about — as mentioned, it is not necessary for breweries to label their beers as vegan even if they are — we will, wherever possible, call this out in our online store,” BWS Beer Category manager Michael Vagli said.

More breweries have turned to using vegan ingredients when processing their beer.

Mr Vagli said only products that had made it clear to them that they did not use isinglass were considered vegan, while they recommend others are consumed with caution.

“Breweries don’t have to declare what fining agent has been used in the brewing process, so it could be either isinglass or dry-powdered seaweed. Changing packaging is a costly exercise as well, so many – especially small craft breweries — could be making vegan friendly beer but not declaring it. To be on the safe side, customers should assume that beers without ‘vegan’ on the packaging are not vegan,” Mr Vagli said.

Yet brewers say all the beers on our list are vegan-friendly.

These include major beverage companies Lion Australia and Carlton United Breweries.

A CUB spokesman said: “it’s important to note that, very occasionally, we may brew limited-edition beers, such as “milkshake” styles, that contain animal products like lactose. Our vegan friendly beers may use the same manufacturing and packaging lines as out limited edition beers.”

BWS’s Michael Vagli said adding an online logo to beers they had confirmed were vegan was done in response to the changing values of their customers.

“In the last few years, we have seen more Australian breweries turn to use vegan-friendly fining agents and make vegan beers,” he said.

“We have also seen more Australians become more mindful of what they are consuming, and moving to drinks that are lower in alcohol or indeed zero alcohol, as well as preservative-free, vegan, gluten-free and organic products. To help customers identify these products, BWS introduced labels online about a year ago.”

Though Woolworths Group’s BWS have taken the lead on identifying vegan products, and their sister store Dan Murphy’s has similar labels on a niche range of craft beers, it looks like other brands might soon follow.

“We are seeing growing customer demand for vegan beer and other liquor, such as wine and spirits, and as part of the new Liquorland website currently in development, we’ll be making it easier for customers to find these products,” a Coles spokeswoman said.

“Launching in the new year, the website will feature icons on products to show health claims and customer preferences – such as vegan, organic, biodynamic, non-alcoholic, Kosher, gluten-free and more.”

Originally published as Corona, Carlton Draught, VB: Which of your favourite beers are vegan?