Beer

[sandra]

It is very annoying, isn't it?
I despair sometimes.............you go to all the trouble of emailing, writing, telephoning about something and at the end of it you are non the wiser!
I just wish they would label everything as being suitable for vegetarians/vegans etc!

[Mahk]

I'd say about a third of my polite emails asking for clarifications go un-answered and in the past few months I've received at least three that basically read, "We are under no legal obligation to answer your question at this time. We appreciate your business and should you have any further questions or concerns please feel free to ask."

:mad:

[sandra]

How annoying Mahk!
What on earth do they mean by 'We are under no legal obligation to answer your question at this time'?
I would have thought if they are selling a product to the public that they are under obigation to inform the public as to what's in that product! :mad:

[Frank]

RE: Kronenberg

''Unfortunately, fish finings work so well that all attempts by brewers to
find a suitable alternative have by and large been unsuccessful.''



They obviously haven't spoken to the Germans then - and their purity laws going back 400 odd years :(

[Risker]

I wonder what animal product it is that they use for colouring that they don't want to disclose...

[Mr Flibble]

They obviously haven't spoken to the Germans then - and their purity laws going back 400 odd years :( 11 reasons why Reinheitsgebot is bollocks (http://www.xs4all.nl/~patto1ro/reinheit.htm) Isinglass is allowed under current german beer law no?

[Frank]

Do they use a version of the beetles/cochineal red (carmine?) ?

They may mess about with the colouring?

Unlikely, but a thought.

[Frank]

11 reasons why Reinheitsgebot is bollocks (http://www.xs4all.nl/~patto1ro/reinheit.htm) Isinglass is allowed under current german beer law no?

Interesting.

I only skimmed it and did not see isinglass mentioned.

I'm still happy with my pint of Becks rather than a pint of Carling.

[Mr Flibble]

"Only materials which act mechanically or by absorption and are thereafter removable, leaving no, or only such residue in the beer which is of no health, taste or odour concern may be used to clarify beer. "

[Frank]

"Only materials which act mechanically or by absorption and are thereafter removable, leaving no, or only such residue in the beer which is of no health, taste or odour concern may be used to clarify beer. "

By that statement you might not necessarily trust every German beer.

I know Becks, Heineken and Holsten are okay. Don't know of any others over here (UK).

[Mr Flibble]

Indeed I was replying to the comment about speaking to germans ;)

As far as I'm aware (my interpriation of german beer laws may be incorrect) there's no reason why german beer in general should be any more likely to be vegan suitable than beer in general from any other country. Sadely Reinheitsgebot/Purity Laws aren't quite up to the level that which many people like to think they are.

Statements such as:

"German purity laws mean that German-brewed beers are not fined with isinglass" from The Vegan Society (http://www.vegansociety.com/food/drink/alcohol/beers.php) really worry me.

[Frank]

Statements such as:

"German purity laws mean that German-brewed beers are not fined with isinglass" from The Vegan Society (http://www.vegansociety.com/food/drink/alcohol/beers.php) really worry me.


I'll look into it.

[Mr Flibble]

"The use of colouring beers, if brewed from malt, hops, yeast and water, in the preparation of beer is allowed but is subject to special supervisory measures."

Also, from wikipedia:

"In May 1987 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1987), a European Court of Justice (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Court_of_Justice) ruling led to the Reinheitsgebot being lifted, allowing ingredients beyond what is listed in the Biergesetz; this meant that anything allowed in other foods was thus also allowed in beer. The ingredient requirements have since been moved from the Biersteuergesetz into the regular food additives laws, though beer brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot receive special treatment as a protected, "traditional" food. The vast majority of German breweries continue to comply with the Biergesetz, often claiming compliance with the Reinheitsgebot even when it is patently incorrect (for example, for wheat beers, which were prohibited by the Reinheitsgebot), using this compliance as a valuable marketing tool."


Would seem to say that you can just brew anything you like in germany and call it beer?

[Fungus]

Just thought I'd pop this in here .. :)
http://www.brackenspub.com/beer.swf

[Mahk]

Funny Fungus.:p It reminded me of the old joke, "What's the difference between a dog and a fox? Answer: 6 beers." [You didn't hear that from me by the way]

[ellaminnowpea]

Yeah, German beer laws seem to be pretty intact according to the Germans I've talked to, but I think it'd be pretty damn hard to tell if it's vegan (like any other beer). I know of native Germans that dont know what breweries abide by the "older" laws and just assume that they all do. That said, I'd much rather have some good German or Belgian beer than the crap they serve around here!

[Corum]

Anyone know whether Leffe's vegan?

[Stu]

I've been told by a friend that it is, but I can't give you a source I'm afraid.

[Corum]

I only ask as I got a 3ltr bottle on ebay for a couple of quid! :D

[Fabrabbit]

In "Vegan Freak" it says that all german beers are Vegan. . .

Also YAY for Koppaberg Pear Cider (if there is such a thing, I thought if it was made with pears it was a perry . . . but oh well) It is my favourite thing for a hot day at the moment :)

[Risker]

Can't remember why I queried this, maybe I just wanted to check the info was up to date, or maybe I just felt like being a pain in the arse.



Thanks for getting in touch and for your support in the Heineken brand.

I can assure you that Heineken is Suitable for vegetarians. We only use malt, water , hops and yeast; no animal resources are used whatsoever. In fact, Heineken is also suitable for Vegans.

Heineken is also GM and Gluten Free although, we recommend that coeliac patients check with there doctor before drinking Heineken.

Please do no hesitate to contact us again if you have any further queries.

Best Regards
Jonathan

[Hemlock]

In "Vegan Freak" it says that all german beers are Vegan. . .

Also YAY for Koppaberg Pear Cider (if there is such a thing, I thought if it was made with pears it was a perry . . . but oh well) It is my favourite thing for a hot day at the moment :)

Corum hijacking Hemlock's login -

yes, Perry is what it is... however a lot of folk can't get their heads around that one for some reason... :rolleyes: never tried Koppaberg myself...

[Corum]

AFAIK It's not. It's stated on the vegetarian beers (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/geraint.bevan/Vegetarian_beers.html) website as being filtered with isinglass, though that info is 5 years old.

How about any of the Kronenbourg beers produced in Strasbourg - such as Kanterbrau...? Anyone got any ideas...?

[Risker]

I've asked Wychwood Brewery if their booze was vegan and got a couple of rather ambiguous replies. First email from them;


Thank you for your email.

I can confirm that our Green Goblin Cider together with all of our
bottled organic ales as detailed below, are suitable for
vegetarians/vegans.

Circle Master
Brakspear Oxford Gold
Sainsbury's So Organic
Morrisons Organic Golden Ale
Duchy Originals Summer Ale
Duchy Originals Organic Ale

If we can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to
contact
us again

Regards

So I replied


Hi,

Thanks for your reply, could I just ask you to clarify if the products
you
mention are filtered/processed with any animal products such as
isinglass/egg white or not?

their response;


Thank you for your email.

We confirm that no animal products are used in our bottled organic ales,
hence their suitability for vegetarians.

If we can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact
us again

Regards

Wychwood Brewery

[Stu]

Where's the ambiguity?