Yes, Guinness is vegan!

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

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