Crafting Eco-Friendly Brews: Creating Vegan Beer for Sustainability
In the ever-evolving world of craft beer, vegan-friendly options are becoming increasingly popular. From large-scale brands to local craft brewers, more breweries are focusing on crafting flavorful beers without animal-derived fining agents, making them suitable for vegan consumers.
Leading brands like BrewDog, Stella Artois, Big Drop Brewing Co., and Athletic Brewing Co. have made a notable shift in 2025, removing gluten and avoiding animal-based clarifiers to create gluten-free and vegan-friendly craft beers [3].
Locally, breweries such as Big Grove Brewery (Iowa City, Iowa), Snafu Brewing (North Charleston, SC), and Burial Beer Co. (Asheville, NC) are also embracing this trend. Big Grove Brewery is known for its vegan-friendly food options and beers, including the Certified Organic premium lager, Patagonia Provisions x Big Grove Brewery Kernza Lager [2][4]. Snafu Brewing offers a variety of beers, including sour beers, and promotes a casual, vegan-friendly atmosphere at their taproom [1]. Burial Beer Co. embraces creative and relaxed vibes with weekly new releases and a variety of vegan-friendly options [5].
These breweries, along with others, are not just catering to vegan consumers but also offering a wide variety of beer styles, from crisp lagers to bold stouts and citrusy pale ales.
However, it's important to note that not all popular beers are vegan. For instance, Blue Moon is not vegan in the UK due to the use of isinglass, while the honey wheat and honey summer ale are not vegan in the US. On the other hand, beers like Pabst Blue Ribbon, Schlitz, Old Style, Bud Light, Budweiser, Michelob (except for the honey wheat beers), Coors (except for Coors Light in the UK), Miller Light, and Rolling Rock are all vegan [1][3].
Guinness and New Castle are also vegan, but in 2016, some consumers experienced allergic reactions to the levels of fish in the packaged beer. Leinenkugel's shandy and weiss lines contain honey, which is not vegan.
One brewery that stands out is Dead Bird Brewing Company, a vegan brewery and winery located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The taproom features a vegan food menu, a parking lot with patterned pavers, a garden with native Wisconsin plants, a beer deck made of recycled plastic, and 208 solar panels on the roof. Environmental sustainability efforts at Dead Bird Brewing Company include partnerships with the Milwaukee Riverkeepers, the use of eco-friendly biodegradable chemicals, water redirection from a permeable pavement parking lot, and a smart lighting system [6].
As the demand for vegan-friendly options continues to grow, finding sustainable ways to deal with waste streams such as spent grain, residual yeast, and packaging is becoming increasingly important for breweries. Aluminum cans, for instance, are some of the most recyclable products on the planet, while brown glass is less recyclable and can be harder to process [7].
In conclusion, the landscape of the craft beer industry is changing, with more breweries offering vegan-friendly options. From large-scale brands to local craft brewers, there's a growing selection of vegan beers available, with some breweries even pairing their offerings with vegan food options. Whether you're a vegan or simply looking for a sustainable choice, there's a beer out there for you.
References:
- Vegan Beer Finder
- Big Grove Brewery
- BrewDog
- Patagonia Provisions
- Burial Beer Co.
- Dead Bird Brewing Company
- Container Recycling Institute
- In the realm of craft beer and health-and-wellness, increasing numbers of breweries are focusing on creating flavorful, vegan-friendly beers, catering not only to vegan consumers but also to those seeking sustainable choices in their food-and-drink lifestyle.
- Environmental-science plays a significant role in the craft beer industry, with breweries like Dead Bird Brewing Company employing various green practices, such as solar energy and water redirection, to reduce their climate-change footprint.
- Cooking vegan-friendly dishes and savoring vegan-friendly craft beers has become a trendy lifestyle choice, with leading brands like BrewDog and smaller breweries like Big Grove Brewery (Iowa City, Iowa) and Snafu Brewing (North Charleston, SC) offering a diverse range of vegan beers.
- The science behind craft brewing continues to evolve, with a growing emphasis on using sustainable ingredients and waste streams management to promote health-and-wellness, environmental-science, and the welfare of our planet.
