Beer

[Pob]

I have emailed them before. The rest of their stuff uses isinglass, so presumably they know what's what. As well as that the Sainsbury one is labelled vegan, so I think we can trust those to be vegan.

[Corum]

Sadly, the Wychwood brewery got taken over a few months ago by some national brewer. They've reduced the strength on a few of their beers and upped the price, so I am currently avoiding them. Which is sad as they used to do some very nice beers, such as Black Wych Stout.

[Pob]

Was that vegan? It was about a year ago I asked, and only the organic bottles were vegan.

[Corum]

who knows...? But seeing as I wasn't Vegan when they stopped making it, we'll never know :)

[Cumin]

An update on Bulmer etc. I had a call from Scottish and Newcastle brewery.
Bad news. To add to the "cross-contamination" fud (noted by Risker):
Although most of the Bulmers, Strongbow and Woodpecker ciders made in Hereford are definitely not made with any animal products (with the exceptions listed by Risker before), there is another problem. Apparently, at times of high sales (e.g. summer), They may bulk import these ciders from another plant in europe which almost certainly uses other methods for clarification (e.g. isinglass), and package them identically. Subsequently NONE of these ciders can be reliably taken as vegan.:(
The exception (I'm checking this) is Scrumpy Jack, as that is owned and managed by another company. They may do a similar thing, but at the moment this is not clear.
There is no way to tell from the can/bottle whether the cider you bought was made in the UK or europe so it must be assumed that it may not be vegan.

sigh.

[Frosty]

C**ts :( This is worse than when my friend died. This is going to make it so hard when drinking in bars now. There are very few places that have a decent selection of cider, and I don't really like lager - it's too filling and makes me sick; especially Carlsberg, it has more bubbles than a bath full of Radox. They're going to lose an awful lot of money from me now. F***ing ba****ds :mad: :( I'm one unhappy Frost!

[Frosty]

I've just gone onto the Carlsberg website, it's only about three and half percent, I'd drown before I got pi**ed on that stuff!! :mad: :rolleyes:

[alisont]

Not good, I shall order another box of thatchers I think, im not keen on strongbow really, but thatchers is vegan, hope they are!

Scrumpy jack is ok not had it in a while as not that keen on canned cider/beer, bottled seems to taste better or on tap but wish more places did thatchers on tap:rolleyes:

[Frosty]

Yeah, I definately prefer cider out of the bottle/tap. Weird that.

The Greyhound Inn opposite the prison in Stafford is my local, and they have a large selection of Thatchers, on tap and in bottle. They have a Cider Slush Puppy type thing on tap as well, and it's divine! Especially in this weather.

[alisont]

Theres a pub in worcester near chesters and smile that does the cider slush - could drink one of those now!

wonder if i put a bottle of thatchers in the freezer if it would go icy - slushy?

the local by work has thatchers gold on tap - trouble is we dont go round lunchtimes as cant drink when at work!

[Frank]

C**ts :(

F***ing ba****ds :mad: :



Frosty - a neutral observer might think that this has upset you somewhat.....

[Frosty]

Haha, only a little Frankie ;) The ****'s :D

[Stu]

An update on Bulmer etc. I had a call from Scottish and Newcastle brewery.
Bad news. To add to the "cross-contamination" fud (noted by Risker):
Although most of the Bulmers, Strongbow and Woodpecker ciders made in Hereford are definitely not made with any animal products (with the exceptions listed by Risker before), there is another problem. Apparently, at times of high sales (e.g. summer), They may bulk import these ciders from another plant in europe which almost certainly uses other methods for clarification (e.g. isinglass), and package them identically. Subsequently NONE of these ciders can be reliably taken as vegan.:(
The exception (I'm checking this) is Scrumpy Jack, as that is owned and managed by another company. They may do a similar thing, but at the moment this is not clear.
There is no way to tell from the can/bottle whether the cider you bought was made in the UK or europe so it must be assumed that it may not be vegan.

sigh.

F*****g ****s with great ******s hanging from their ******s and no ***** or ***, despite the *****s they always insist on ****ing their ******s like total, complete and utter ***s.

[Gorilla]

^^ what he said. :mad:

[Frosty]

I'm glad I'm not the only one disappointed in this :(

[Mr Flibble]

So, is Strongbow made in another factory in europe and sold there as strongbow or do they buy a generic cider from any plant that looks and tastes the and call it strongbow in times of high demand? If it's always from the same one could it be checked with them?

[Marrers]

wonder if i put a bottle of thatchers in the freezer if it would go icy - slushy?
In my experience putting the bottle in the freezer does not achieve a good effect on anything carbonated - they freeze unevenly and you risk the bottle shattering. But I think you could achieve this effect as I've accidentally done it before, using freezer sleeves (those frozen jackets you take out of the freezer to chill wine and beer within 5 minutes).

You'll need at least two, maybe even three freezer sleeves designed for beer or canned drinks. Start with a well chilled cider, put the first freezer sleeve on it for 5-10 minutes. Then replace that with a second freezer sleeve for a similar length of time, then the third if you want even more icy. Leave the sleeve on as you drink it if possible. (If you try it let me know how it goes!)

eta Rapid Ice (http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=rapid+ice&tag=googhydr-21&index=garden&hvadid=697610109&ref=pd_sl_3hiqxks1br_b) is the most effective one in my opinion.

[snaffler]

There is only one really true ice cider that is cider over cider ice ! good old westons :D who also make the best cider in the world according to my taste buds

http://www.westons-cider.co.uk/images/uploaded/3090819_1582365.pdf

[Pob]

I noticed the new design bottles of Weston's don't say vegan anymore. This was on a premium organic bottle. Just says suitable for vegetarians and coeliacs.

I take it they are still vegan, though?

[Gorilla]

that's odd. didn't they used to have the Vegan Society Logo? maybe they just don't want to pay for it any more.

[Frosty]

Why does getting pi**ed have to be so complicated? :(

[Cumin]

So, is Strongbow made in another factory in europe and sold there as strongbow or do they buy a generic cider from any plant that looks and tastes the and call it strongbow in times of high demand? If it's always from the same one could it be checked with them?

The guy I spoke to at Scot&New seemed to think that it may come from a number of plants over which they have no knowledge. He also said it as very likely that some kind of clarifier is used there, rather than the cross-flow filtration. You may be right that it's the same brand, but I suspect that validating that would be VERY hard. :(

[Risker]

Since it was mentioned in another thread that some Grolsch might not be vegan...


Hi,
Please could you tell me if Grolsch is suitable for vegans (i.e. not filtered with isinglass etc.) I've heard that 'crown top' Grolsch may not be?


We thank you for your enquiry. We can confirm that Isinglass Finings are not used during the production of Grolsch, and Grolsch suitable for both vegetarians and vegans.

[Mahk]

"Grolsch (a Dutch beer) served from a spring top bottle has for a long time been suitable for vegans, but Grolsch served from a bottle with a crown cork is not suitable for vegans."
Source. (http://www.btinternet.com/~p.g.h/vegan_beer_introduction.htm)
Vegan: "Grolsch (except crown top)"
VegansocietyUK (http://www.vegansociety.com/food/drink/alcohol/beers.php)
"Even then, the answer may not be straightforward. For example, some "versions" of Grolsch (spring top) may be suitable for vegans, whereas others (bottle with crown cork) may not"
Source. (http://www.moakes.com/vegan-facts.htm)
I assume "crown top" means typical metal beer bottle top, right? This is all very confusing. I've never understood the logic why they'd have a different process depending on what bottle type they use but I've seen this from several sources. I don't know what to think.

How recent was your correspondence with Grolsch, Risker?

[Risker]

I emailed them yesterday and got the response today.