Would You like a Bit of Fish in That Beer ?
In the News
I would like to think i know a little bit about beers, i was in a beer club years ago and used to order brews from around the world
I remember ordering a special Christmas beer once , i forget the name of it but it was 14% strength and black like treacle, very heavy to drink
I also used to make my own beer in the early 80s using a beer kit ,a brewing bucket and a beer sphere topped with a gas bomb containing Co2 where it was poured after fermentation
So i was surprised to hear about 'isinglass', a form of collagen that is actually the 'swim bladder' from certain tropical and subtropical fish, and is used in some beers to make it clearer
It was probably in the beer kits i used but the ingredients were not fully explained as they are now
It is not a problem for me, but might be if you are vegetarian or vegan
Here are a list of some of the beers that contain isinglass , Guinness, Kronenbourg , Carling and Foster's
The more vegan friendly beers are Stella Artois, Carlsberg, Budweiser, Beck's ,Grolsch and San Miguel that don't contain it
I doubt if most people would be overly concerned about this additive, only possibly if someone was a bit green around the gills from over indulging and you happened to mention this, they might then make a dash for the loos to visit Huey
www.thesun.co.uk/news/21060773/the-surprising-ingredient-in-beer-revealed/
I remember telling a vegan friend that she might want to re-consider some of the wines she was so ardently imbibing as well. They have stopped using blood but they still use a lot of animal products in wine manufacture. Isinglass sounds like you need to be looking to see what actually is in glass! Here's an angry fish 
They use it in lots of white wines as well. Most aren't suitable for vegetarians or vegans. If you look online at Sainsbury's ect the selection is about 80 out of 700 are suitable for vegans.
Midnightflower Another revelation there then M, it wouldn't surprise me if they put it in bottled water, despite the fact it is already clear
telmel I only know as I've been vegetarian for 15 years and spent quite a few years, in the beginning, drinking wine without realising it. Luckily I'm not over strict so I didn't worry about it too much but some would be mortified.
My father used to brew beer, tasted awful. My husband would have one purely to be polite.
We had a garden full of blackberry bushes when I was a youngster and mum and dad made about ten demijohns of blackberry wine and tea wine. My dad's mate was three sheets to the wind and they had to carry him home bless. I remember when Boots and Woolies used to sell beer making kits. Showing my age now alright!
MelissaLee1 We had a specialist wine and beer shop that sold the kits M
The biggest problem was fitting everything in the airing cupboard by the water heater where it was warm for the fermentation
It literally did smell like a brewery
telmel Not nearly as bad as me trying to grow mushrooms in carrier bags of coffee grouts hanging in the airing cupboard T.
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