Beer is one of the most beloved drinks across the globe, and its especially true during summers, when many people like to cool down with a pint. So popular is beer that people have even found many ways to use beer at home other than for drinking.
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While some studies have claimed that drinking a beer a day is good for you, it is more generally accepted that you need to monitor your consumption of beer and alcohol in general, due to serious side effects of drinking regularly.
However, if you were under the illusion that beer is vegetarian, you might be in store for a rude shock. As per Lad Bible, some beers actually contains a by-product of fish bladder! Yikes.
Beer are made using isinglass
Beers contain four main ingredients: grains, hops, yeast, and water. While this recipe seems innocent enough, there is also another lesser known ingredient used in the beer-making process that might raise quite a few eyebrows. This is called islinglass.
As per Beer&Brewing, islinglass is used to clarify beer. It is derived from the bladders of certain tropical and subtropical fishes including sturgeon, cod and hake fish.
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Fish bladders when kept in food-grade acids for several weeks turn into a colourless, viscous solution, called islinglass, which is then used as a fining agent in order to settle yeast and beer proteins efficiently at the bottom of the vessel where beer is being developed, thereby producing a clear alcohol.
Many breweries still use isinglass
Though once upon a time, it was very common to use islinglass, beer companies have figured out others ways of achieving the same result, without having to use fish guts.
But turns out that many beers in the market today still use islinglass in the production process, thereby making the end-result completely not suitable for a vegan diet.
As per Lad Bible, Carling, Coors Light, Foster’s, and Kronenbourg are some beer companies that still use islinglass. If you are a fan of Guinness beers, you're in luck since the company stopped using islinglass about five years ago.
Needless to say, this revelation has come as a shock to many beer-drinkers who couldn't have fathomed the use of this unlikely fish product in producing their beer.
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Sources used:
Lad Bible: 'People are horrified after realising there's fish guts in pints of beer'
Beer&Brewing: 'Isinglass'
