Recent polls suggest over 5 million adults follow a vegan diet in the United States alone (1).

Vegan diets exclude all animal products, including meat, dairy, eggs, and honey and most of them also eliminate any byproducts derived from animals or insects, including ones used during food processing (2).

Finding vegan alcohol can be tricky, as manufacturers arent usually required to list ingredients on labels for beer, wine, and spirits (3).

Thus, you may wonder how to tell which products are vegan.

This article provides a complete guide to vegan alcohol by highlighting non-vegan ingredients to look out for, reviewing several types of alcohol, and offering purchasing tips.

Many ⁠ but certainly not all ⁠ alcoholic beverages are vegan.

Animal products may be used during processing or as ingredients in the drink itself.

For example, animal-derived foods are often used as fining agents, which are substances that help filter out impurities and improve the clarity, flavor, and aroma of alcoholic beverages (4).

Here are some common non-vegan ingredients and fining agents used in alcohol:

Not all alcoholic beverages are vegan, as animal products may be used during processing or included in the drink itself.

The four main ingredients in beer are water, a grain like barley or wheat, yeast, and hops a flower that provides beers distinctive, bitter taste. The yeast ferments and digests the sugar from the grain to produce alcohol (13, 14).

All of these ingredients are vegan. However, some breweries add non-vegan ingredients to clarify, flavor, or color the beer.

Vegan beers do not use animal or insect products at any time during brewing.

Most commercial beers from established breweries are vegan. These include:

Keep in mind, this is not an exhaustive list numerous other vegan beers are on the market, including many craft beers.

Craft breweries may include vegan status on the product label, which is indicated by text or a vegan trademark. Microbreweries that make vegan beer include Alternation Brewing Company, Little Machine, and Modern Times Brewery.

If you have a favorite craft brewery, consider asking them whether their beers are vegan.

Any beer brewed with ingredients derived from animals or insects is not vegan.

Ingredients like isinglass and gelatin may be used as fining agents, while whey, lactose, and honey are sometimes added as ingredients (15).

It may be difficult to tell when such ingredients are used, as theyre not always listed on the label. Adding to the confusion, some companies make both vegan and non-vegan brews.

Though there are exceptions, certain types of beer typically arent vegan, including:

While many beers are vegan, others may be brewed with non-vegan ingredients, such as isinglass, gelatin, whey, lactose, and honey.

Wine is made from grapes, which are crushed and fermented to form alcohol.

After the juice is fermented, fining agents may be added to remove unwanted substances, such as bitter plant compounds called tannins (20).

If animal-based fining agents are used, the wine cannot be considered vegan.

There are many vegan wines on the market.

Vegan wines use clay-based fining agents, such as bentonite, or proteins derived from wheat, corn, legumes, potatoes, or other plants (21).

Plenty of brands make solely vegan wine, including:

Many wineries also include their vegan status on the label, which is indicated by text or a vegan trademark.

Keep in mind that some wineries produce both vegan and non-vegan wines. For example, Yellow Tail and Charles Shaw produce vegan red varieties, but their white wines arent vegan-friendly.

Some wineries may use animal products, such as isinglass, gelatin, albumin, and casein, for fining. Carmine, a red dye made from insects called cochineal, may also be added as a colorant (22).

Except for carmine and cochineal, wineries arent always required to list ingredients including fining agents on the label (23).

Most wines from the following brands are not vegan:

Keep in mind, this list is not all-encompassing. Many other companies produce non-vegan wines.

Some wineries use animal products like carmine for coloring or isinglass, gelatin, albumin, and casein during processing. All the same, plenty of vegan wines are available.

Unlike beer and wine, spirits rely on a process called distillation, in which the alcohol is concentrated from fermented ingredients (24).

Most unflavored spirits are vegan. However, some flavored liquors and several cocktail recipes arent.

Vegan liquor is relatively easy to find. Unflavored versions of the following spirits are usually free of animal-based ingredients, including during processing:

However, there are exceptions in each category. Whether a particular spirit is vegan ultimately depends on the manufacturer.

Flavored liquors and cordials may contain non-vegan ingredients, such as milk, cream, and honey.

Although uncommon, carmine may be used as a dye in some red spirits. Non-vegan ingredients may also be introduced to spirits when making cocktails.

Potential non-vegan spirits and cocktails include:

Remember, this list isnt comprehensive. Other spirits and cocktails may not be vegan depending on the ingredients used.

While unflavored spirits are generally vegan, flavored varieties and numerous cocktails may contain non-vegan ingredients like milk, cream, honey, and carmine.

Finding vegan alcohol isnt always straightforward.

While some companies list ingredients voluntarily, its not mandatory in the United States or Europe to do so for most alcoholic beverages (25).

Regardless, companies rarely list fining agents. Substances that have been used during processing and later removed, such as isinglass and gelatin, seldom make it onto labels (26).

Here are a few tips for identifying vegan alcohol:

If youre still unsure whether a certain alcoholic beverage is vegan, its best to avoid those that dont have a vegan claim on the label.

If youre unsure whether your drink of choice is vegan, contact the manufacturer. You can also check the packaging or search online databases.

Many alcoholic beverages are naturally vegan. Nonetheless, some include animal products as ingredients or during processing.

Some non-vegan ingredients may be obvious, such as honey in honey beer or lactose in milk stouts. However, many others arent revealed in the name and may be difficult to detect, particularly if theyre used as fining agents to filter or clarify the drink.

Due to lax labeling requirements, manufacturers rarely list ingredients. As such, you should check the product for a vegan icon or contact the manufacturer directly if youre still unsure.

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Is Alcohol Vegan? A Complete Guide to Beer, Wine, and Spirits - Healthline