General Guidance
The UK government provides guidance to businesses, including those in the brewing industry, regarding allergens and dietary requirements. The guidance primarily falls under the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and local authority regulations. Combined with rising rates of food allergies in the general population, makes it more important than ever to be up front with customers about what’s inside the beer you brew.
Here are some key points:
1. Allergen Labelling: Food businesses, including breweries, are required to provide accurate allergen information to consumers. This usually involves labelling products with any allergens they contain, such as nuts, gluten, soy, etc. This information should be clear and easily accessible to consumers.
2. Ingredient Lists: Breweries should maintain detailed records of the ingredients used in their products. This includes not only the main ingredients like hops, malt, and yeast but also any additives or processing aids that could contain allergens.
3. Cross-Contamination: Businesses need to be vigilant about preventing cross-contamination of allergens during the brewing process. This might involve having dedicated equipment for allergen-free products, implementing thorough cleaning procedures, and training staff on allergen control measures.
4. Training: All staff involved in the brewing process should receive training on allergen awareness and management. This includes understanding which ingredients contain allergens, how to prevent cross-contamination, and how to respond to customer inquiries about allergens.
5. Risk Assessment: Breweries should conduct regular risk assessments to identify potential allergen hazards in their operations and implement appropriate control measures to mitigate these risks.
6. Communication: Clear communication with consumers is key. Breweries should provide allergen information through various channels, including product labels, websites, menus (if applicable), and staff training.
7. Legal Compliance: Breweries must ensure that they comply with relevant legislation, such as the Food Safety Act 1990, the Food Information Regulations 2014, and any other relevant EU regulations (if applicable).
It’s essential for breweries to stay updated with any changes in regulations and guidelines regarding allergens and dietary requirements to ensure compliance and maintain consumer trust. The Food Standards Agency website and local authority resources are valuable sources of information in this regard.
The 14 regulated Allergens by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
The food and drink industry is strictly regulated, with the following 14 allergens being the most potent and prevalent:
• celery
• cereals containing gluten (such as wheat, rye, barley and oats)
• crustaceans (such as prawns, crabs and lobsters)
• eggs
• fish
• lupin
• milk
• molluscs (such as mussels and oysters)
• mustard
• peanuts
• sesame
• soybeans
• sulphur dioxide and sulphites (at a concentration of more than ten parts per million)
• tree nuts (such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts)
The pub and brewing industry has always had to manage products with clear labelling and best practice guidelines in addition to FSA regulations. There are obvious allergens that are common in real ale that are included in the list above, e.g. gluten and lactose, and all breweries ensure that their products are marketed correctly to help inform and protect consumers.
However in addition to the formal regulations around allergens, there is now an increased interest in health and lifestyle choices that pubs and breweries are recognising and adapting to. Following specific feedback at the last Robin Hood Beer & Cider Festival regarding the labelling of “vegan friendly” beers, this will be a specific area that we’re going to focus on, with the help of a vegan member!
Based on members feedback, one of the most regularly used website resources for Vegan alcohol is a well established site called Barnivore. This site is an incredible international database of vegan products, so we’ve included a link below for members to check out.

Bex's "Vegan Voice"
Non-vegan beer: if it’s not broken, why change it?
For many, beer is a celebration of craft, tradition, and flavor. Classic ale drinkers understand the nuance in every sip—the balance of malt, hops, yeast, and water coming together to create something timeless. But, like many other areas of life, the beer world is evolving to accommodate modern sensibilities without sacrificing its heritage. Enter vegan beer—a new option that aligns with traditional values of craftsmanship and quality, while being mindful of ethical concerns.
What makes beer vegan?
At first glance, all beer might seem vegan. After all, it’s just a blend of barley, water, hops, and yeast, right? Well, not quite. While most ingredients are plant-based, some brewing processes use animal-derived products, particularly during the clarification process.
Beer is a complex solution of proteins, yeast cells, and other substances suspended in liquid. They are often too small to settle quickly enough on their own, so fining agents work by promoting the aggregation of these tiny particles into larger clumps. These clumps then become heavy enough to settle out of the beer or can be removed through filtration.
Traditionally, clear beers have been made using fining agents like isinglass (made from fish swim bladders). Additionally, brewers often add non-vegan ingredients to elevate our beloved stouts and sours. Lactose (sugar from milk) and, less commonly, honey and marshmallow are examples of such non-vegan additions used to provide additional sweetness and mouthfeel.
While many breweries still rely on these non-vegan ingredients, recent plant-based advances in food science could be considered and adopted into the brewing world. To craft the beer, many brewers are turning to viable vegan alternatives such as seaweed (specifically Irish moss) or switching to modern filtration techniques that don’t involve animal products. Additionally, animal products are potentially no longer necessary to produce the rich flavours we crave. Tom from Neon Raptor assured me that “these flavours can almost be replicated through vegan measures like using maltodextrin and coconut cream or other ingredients.”
“I don’t think people fully understand vegan beer as some people are automatically opposed to the word vegan. I’m not sure why anyone would want their beer to heavily utilise animal products… Despite not being vegan myself, I would always choose an unfined or vegan fined beer over one using isinglass.”
Why aren’t all beers vegan?
In an ideal world, all finings would come from non-animal sources. However, there are additional barriers for our beloved local breweries which disincentivise their use, such as effectiveness, time and cost. “There are downsides to using these [vegan finings] because nothing on the market is quite as effective as Isinglass, so we have to consider hot-side hopping rates when formulating our recipes… In our hazy beers, we don’t use any finings whatsoever,” Salli, Magpie Brewing.


Getting involved in brewing at Bang the Elephant
With the cost of fining being absorbed by our breweries, an alternative more sustainable option is to move more towards hazy/unfiltered (and accidently vegan) beers. Nigel and Tom from Bang the Elephant told us that “Clarification of beers, whichever fining is being used, is time consuming and expensive, and we can’t pass on the cost to the customer.”
As with everything, the cost of these alternatives will come down as technology improves and demand increases; over the next few years, the vegetarian and vegan market is set to grow “so it’s a no brainer to make your beer vegan too,” says Tom. “Near enough 5% of the population is vegan now, and it’s only going in one direction…” we were informed by Salli, “…with demand for vegan food being expected to rise by more than 10% in the next 5 or 6 years, we find it weird that beer is dragging its feet!”
What’s the bigger picture?
Switching to vegan beer isn’t only about ethical choices—it’s also a more environmentally sustainable option. The use of animal products in traditional brewing contributes further to the environmental impact of beer production in addition to the water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. By adopting plant-based fining agents breweries such as Magpie Brewing who make conscious decisions regarding ingredients, packaging, distribution methods and energy consumption, can reduce their impact on the planet. As consumers increasingly look for ways to lower their carbon footprint, vegan beer offers a sustainable way to enjoy a classic pint while supporting a more eco-friendly future.
The future of beer is inclusive!
Most breweries label their vegan beers, advertise on social media, and highlight them on mailings. However, Salli told us that “legally speaking, neither gelatine nor Isinglass [two non-vegan ingredients used in brewing] need be declared on a product’s clip, bottle, or can, meaning many people unwittingly consume non-vegan beers daily.” In a move to portray an inclusive beer community, breweries that cannot, or do not wish to, provide a vegan product should consider making a concerted effort to standardise labelling of vegan beer (without the vegan trademark price tag). In this way, they are providing everyone the opportunity to make a conscious decision about what they drink.
As a quick comparison, some of the world’s most respected beers have always been vegan by default. Belgian ales, many German lagers, and a host of craft brews proudly carry the vegan label without ever compromising on taste. It’s a testament to the fact that great beer can come from tradition, even as brewing methods evolve.
For classic ale drinkers, choosing vegan beer doesn’t mean leaving tradition behind—it means embracing the future without forgetting the past. As CAMRA passes their 51st anniversary, we must consider that if we want to entice the next generation of beer drinkers, we need to appeal to both their ethos and their palettes. Vegan beer strive to maintain the quality and complexity that discerning drinkers love, so why not give one a go at this year’s Robin Hood Beer and Cider Festival?
If you have any feedback on this, or want to contribute any additional information, please e-mail our Membership Secretary, membership@nottinghamcamra.org