
Yes, Guinness is vegan!
Posted on the 15th March 2017
Guinness finally went completely vegan in April 2016. This includes all Guinness drinks.

What makes alcohol not vegan?
Many breweries use a product called isinglass in the production of their beer. This substance is made from the swim bladders of certain fish and is used to make the beer clear, rather than cloudy. It remains a common practice throughout the industry making many beers unsuitable for both vegans and vegetarians. Some beers can also have other animal ingredients added to them, such as milk stouts, which contain lactose, and oyster stouts, which really do contain shellfish.
Other vegan stouts
Cask Stouts
Isinglass is most commonly used in cask beers – i.e. those dispensed from hand pumps in pubs and bars – making them far less likely to be suitable for vegans. However, a number of mostly small-scale breweries across the UK produce cask stouts that are free from animal products. Here’s a selection to look out for:
- Ginger Stout, Angel Ales, West Midlands
- Breakfast Stout, Arbor Ales, Bristol
- Descent Into Madness Winter Stout, Bad Seed Brewery, North Yorkshire
- Idle Bo Stout, Bartleby’s Brewery, East Sussex
- Subwoofer Stout, Baseline Brewing, West Sussex
- Blackjack Stout, Blackjack Beers, Manchester
- Spiral Stout, Boudicca Brewing, Norfolk.
- Sump Oil Stout, Brew Shack, Dorset
- Windrush Stout, Brixton Brewery, London
- Dandy Stout, Earth Ale Brewery, London
- Quadrant Oatmeal Stout, East London Brewing, London
- Oatmeal Stout, Fourpure Brewing, London
- Treason Stout, Great Heck Brewing, North Yorkshire
- Entire Stout, Hop Back Brewery, Wiltshire
- Utopian Stout, Lacada Brewery, County Antrim
- London Stout, Meantime Brewing, London
- Moor Stout, Moor Beer Company, Bristol
- Outstanding Stout, Outstanding Brewing, Lancashire
- Foreign Export Stout, Partizan Brewing, London
- Dance First Stout, Pig & Porter Brewing, Kent
- Shoreditch Stout, Pitfield Brewery, Essex
- 1792 Imperial Chocolate Stout, Pitfield Brewery, Essex
- Hoxton Stout, Redchurch Brewery, London
- Old Ford Export Stout, Redchurch Brewery, London
- Kofra Stout, Redwell Brewery, Norfolk
- Extra Stout, Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery, North Yorkshire
- Chopper Stout, Six Degrees North, Aberdeenshire
- Sweetheart Stout, Tennent Caledonian Breweries, Glasgow
- Old Rasputin Stout, Tollgate Brewery, Derbyshire
- God’s Twisted Sister Stout, Twisted Barrel Ale, West Midlands
- Decadence Stout, Weird Beard Brewing, London
Bottle and Can Only
Some breweries use isinglass in their cask stout, but not in the version available in bottles or cans. So here are some vegan-friendly alternatives to Guinness that you can buy off the shelf, just not at the bar:
- Holy Cowbell India Stout, Beavertown Brewery, London
- Doodle Stout, Bingham’s Brewery, Berkshire
- Hibernator Oatmeal Stout, Black Isle Brewery, Highlands
- Imperial Russian Stout, Black Sheep Brewery, North Yorkshire
- Glencoe Wild Oat Stout, Black Wolf Brewery, Stirlingshire
- Dunham Stout, Dunham Massey Brewing, Greater Manchester
- Fat Cat Stout, Fat Cat Brewery, Norfolk
- Double Stout, Hook Norton Brewery, Oxfordshire
- Swingbridge Stout, Humpty Dumpty Brewery, Norfolk
- Dry Stout, Kernel Brewery, London
- Export Stout, Kernel Brewery, London
- Whiskey Barrel Aged Stout, Lacada Brewery, County Antrim
- Silkie Stout, Loch Lomond Brewery, Dunbartonshire
- #150 Stout, Round Tower Brewery, Essex
- Crème de Stout, Sacre Brew, West Midlands (also available in keg)
- Oatmeal Stout, Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery, North Yorkshire
- Organic Chocolate Stout, Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery, North Yorkshire
- Double Stout, Shepherd Neame Brewery, Kent
- Mena Dhu Stout, St Austell Brewery, Cornwall
- Dry Stout, Stringers Beer, Cumbria
- Broadwood Wassail Stout, Welton’s Brewery, West Sussex
- Profanity Stout, Williams Bros. Brewing, Clackmannanshire
- Stout Hearted, Yeovil Ales Brewery, Somerset
Please note that whilst all the beers listed above are suitable for vegans, other beers sold by these breweries may not be. Please check Barnivore or with the breweries themselves for the most up-to-date information.
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