Can Vegans Drink Alcohol? Beer, Wine, and Liquor Guide

There are several non-vegan ingredients commonly found in alcohol. You can reasonably assume that many types of alcohol will not include non-vegan ingredients, but it's not always that simple.

Sticking to a strict vegan diet can be tough. It can also be confusing because most labels don’t clearly state whether a product is vegan. Alcoholic products can be particularly difficult to evaluate, as manufacturers aren’t required to provide an ingredient list. Whether you’re hoping to meet friends at a bar or kick back with a cocktail, you may ask yourself: Is beer vegan? What about wine and liquor, for that matter?

Many prefer the vegan diet because it aligns with their personal beliefs about animal rights. Additionally, vegans often have lower cholesterol, weigh less, and are less likely to die of heart disease than non-vegans. This is likely because a vegan diet comprises healthy fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, and legumes.

Like vegetarians, vegans do not eat meat. They also don’t eat seafood or animal products, including eggs, dairy products, gelatin, and honey — but many vegans do drink alcohol.

You can reasonably assume that many types of alcohol will not include non-vegan ingredients, but it’s not always that simple.

Vegans can drink beer — but not all beer.

Most beer includes four basic ingredients: water, malt, yeast, and hops. Beer brewers rely on a combination of boiling and fermenting to convert grain starches to sugar. Fermenting this sugar with yeast produces the carbonated alcoholic beverage called beer. This process and beer’s basic ingredients are all vegan-friendly.

However, certain cask ales rely on a non-vegan production process, and some beer is not vegan due to different additives. For instance, brewers will occasionally add non-vegan ingredients to alter the appearance or flavor of the beer.

Luckily, you can generally depend on vegan beer from these established brewers:

• Coors
• Miller
• Budweiser
• Stella Artois
• Lagunitas
• Amstel
• Heineken
• Guinness
• Samuel Adams 

Many independent craft brewers also make vegan beer and will often specify whether it’s vegan on the label.

When choosing a vegan beer, do your homework. Even conventionally vegan brewers may add non-vegan ingredients to ciders and special edition or seasonal brews.

You may be surprised to learn that all wine is not vegan. After all, it’s made from grapes, and those fall firmly in the fruit family. However, as with beer, wine can become non-vegan during the production process.

This is due to a technique called “fining,” during which winemakers clarify their wine and remove unwanted sediment or flavors. Unfortunately for vegans, fining agents are often made of animal products such as egg whites, the milk protein casein, and gelatin.

However, there are vegan alternatives. Synthetic compounds and bentonite clay can be used as fining agents and produce vegan wine. Plus, the need for fining has drastically decreased in the last few decades due to better refrigeration and grape-pressing technology. 

Due to these advances, some winemakers skip the fining process altogether and produce vegan wine with no extra effort.

As the vegan diet increases in popularity, more winemakers are taking notice. The following brands produce vegan wines:

• Avaline
• Frey Vineyards
• The Wonderful Wine
• Proudly Vegan Wines
• Bonterra
• Layer Cake

Certain wines display the word “vegan” on their labels. Without that label, you need to know the fining process to determine whether the wine is vegan.

Good news. Many types of liquor are vegan! This is because a fining process is not required to create spirits. Instead, manufacturers ferment the raw materials (such as grains and sugars) and then distill them. For the most part, the following liquors are safe for vegans:

• Gin. Gin is distilled with grains and flavored with berries or botanicals.
• Vodka. Vodka is distilled using potatoes or other grains.
• Tequila. Tequila is derived from the agave plant.
• Whiskey. Whiskey is made from barley, corn, rye, or wheat grains.
• Brandy. Brandy is usually made with grapes, but other fruits can be used.
• Rum. Rum is created using sugarcane.

Vegans should avoid certain varieties of the above alcohols as they may contain dairy or animal products. To be sure you’re not accidentally consuming non-vegan ingredients, it helps to know which ingredients are not considered vegan.

Watch out for these non-vegan ingredients commonly found in alcohol:

• Isinglass. Also known as “fish glue,” this is a surprisingly common ingredient used as a clarifying agent during the alcohol fermentation process. Because isinglass comes from the membranes of fish swim bladders, alcohol is not vegan if it contains isinglass.
• Honey. Honey is sometimes used as a sweetener in certain alcohol and special beer brews. Fermented honey is also the primary ingredient in mead. Because honey comes from bees, it is not considered vegan.
• Milk or whey. Milk products are used in certain types of beer. Whey is the watery part of milk. It's found in milk stouts and has even been used to make vodka. However, this is not the standard.
• Gelatin and casein.  Gelatin and casein are both animal proteins used during the fining process. Gelatin comes from boiled animal bones and skin, whereas casein is present in milk.
• Cochineal and carmine. Cochineal and carmine (a primary component of cochineal) are used as food coloring agents and lend a bright red color to certain alcohol types like liqueur. Both dyes are extracted from dried cochineal insects, which proves problematic for vegans.

Some ingredients, like honey and milk, are easier to identify, but it can be harder to know whether ingredients like gelatin and isinglass were used in processing your desired alcohol.

When seeking vegan beer, it’s safest to avoid honey beers and mead. Wine is trickier, but there are vegan brands on the market. When drinking liquor, avoid flavored alcohol and pre-made mixers — stick with straight liquor or add your vegan mixers at home.

If you’re unsure whether alcohol is vegan, your best bet is to contact the manufacturer directly via phone, email, or social media. While the producer is not obligated to disclose anything about animal products used during processing, they’ll generally be happy to provide this information — especially when it means gaining a customer!