breakfast: coffee with soy milk from Marvelous Market; banana; everything bagel with Trader Joe’s organic original hummus (yum)

Lunch: a lot of cashews, an apple and frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, corn, green beans)

pre-dinner snack: turtle mountain’s purely decadent cookie avalanche ice cream

Dinner with Eva, Shelley and Nate: mushroom risotto with arugula and saffron. arugula salad with pan roasted radishes, strawberries tossed with homemade lemon vinaigrette

dessert: kettle salt and pepper chips

drink: magic hat #9 (see company responses about vegan products)

another beer response:

Brooklyn Brewery (vegan except for the brewmaster’s reserve- brooklyn buzz bomb!)

Hello Stacey,

Thank you for contacting the Brooklyn Brewery.

All of our 12 ounce bottles are vegan friendly, and do not use any of the ingredients you have mentioned. Although our website states that our cask conditioned beers use isinglass, this is no longer true. Only our new Brewmaster’s Reserve, the Brooklyn Buzz Bomb, uses honey and is not vegan.

None of our beers are 100% gluten free.

We hope this information is helpful!

Cheers,

Dan D’Ippolito

Communications Coordinator

Brooklyn Brewery

dan@brooklynbrewery.com

Twitter @BrooklynBrewery

__________________________________

From: stacey litner [mailto:stacey.litner@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2010 10:33 AM
To: Dan D’Ippolito
Subject: Question about your beer

Hi:

I am wondering if your beers are vegan.  I do not use any ingredients derived from an animal including gelatin, milk, honey, whey, casein, isinglass, etc. I am interested both in the filtration process and in the ingredients that go into the beer itself. Thank you for your help.

Stacey

breakfast: salty oatmeal and trader joe’s non-pareils

lunch: leftover Portobellas Stuffed w/ Lemon Scented Quinoa and Arugula

snacks: the last of the non-pareils, baked lays, and a lot of cashews

dinner: happy hour at bread and brew (their menu is not up to date). I had the $5 mushroom pizza with arugula (they added the arugula for free) and arrogant bastard ale (vegan according to a woman at the bar who looked it up for me).  I sent the company an email to confirm

desert: turtle mountain’s purely decadent cookie avalanche ice cream

beer response:

Peak Organic Brewing Co. (Completely vegan!):

Hi Stacey,

Thanks for reaching out!  We really appreciate the interest.

Our beers are vegan.  The most common ingredient that brewers use to preclude them from being vegan is Isinglass, which is a fining agent.  We use a vegan alternative.

Hope that helps!

Be well,

Jon

Founder

Peak Organic Brewing Co.

www.peakbrewing.com

breakfast: coffee with soy milk from marvelous market

pre lunch snack: Trader Joe’s non-pareil and some leftover raw collard green salad

lunch: more raw collard green salad and baked lays

post lunch snack: mint tea and more Trader Joe’s non-pareils (they are almost gone)

dinner: duccini’s pizza!!!!!!! they have a happy hour special from 4-6 on fridays (Friday Happy-Hour from 4pm – 6pm Any large two-topping pizza for only 10.99). I had tomatoes and vegan cheese added to mine (my brother paid for it, so I am not sure if they charged extra for the vegan cheese).  their jumbo slices are definitely better than their regular pizza

more beer responses!:

Bell’s Brewery (mostly vegan!):

Dear Stacey:

Thank you for the note; your question is a good one. Larry Bell is traveling & has asked that I respond to you. All of our beers meet the criteria for vegetarian status. Unlike most breweries our size, we do not filter or fine any of our beers. Furthermore, with two exceptions, everything that we package for distribution to bars & stores qualifies not only as vegetarian, but as vegan. Those two exceptions are Hopslam Ale and Eccentric Ale, both of which contain honey. People often wonder about our Special Double Cream Stout, but it does not contain any cream, milk, or milk-derived sugars: the name refers solely to the creamy texture, not an actual ingredient.

Occasionally, we will make other specialty batches for our own bar that may have honey or lactose; just ask any of the bartenders at the Eccentric Café in Kalamazoo & they’ll be happy to answer questions about the specialty taps.

I hope this addresses your concern. Please feel free to contact me again if you have any further questions or comments.

Sincerely,

Gary S. Nicholas

Quality Assurance & Control

Bell’s Brewery, Inc.

8938 Krum Avenue

Galesburg, MI 49053

E-mail: gnich@bellsbeer.com

________________________________________

From: stacey litner [stacey.litner@gmail.com]

Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2010 8:55 PM

To: Larry Bell

Subject: Is your beer vegan?  :From Bell’sbeer.com :President

Name : stacey litner

Email : stacey.litner@gmail.com

Regard : Is your beer vegan?

Hi:

I am wondering if your beers are vegan.  I do not use any ingredients derived from an animal including gelatin, milk, honey, whey, casein, isinglass, etc. I am interested both in the filtration process and in the ingredients that go into the beer itself. Thank you for your help.

Stacey

___________________________________________________________________________________

Stoudt’s Brewing Company (mostly vegan):

Stacey,

We only have one beer that would not be considered vegan. That beer is our Maibock, and we use honey during the brewing process. Other than that none of our beers use or have any animal products in them. We do not use finings or isinglass as clarifying agents, and we are filtering using filter sheets made from diatomaceous earth and paper. Hope this helps.

P.S. Our Pils makes some mean baja tacos. (from veganomicon cookbook)

Brett J Kintzer

Stoudt’s Brewing Company

Head Brewer/Production Mgr.

Email: brett@stoudtsbeer.com

Web: www.stoudts.com

Think Globally Drink Locally!!!

Support your Local Brewery!!!

From: stacey litner [mailto:stacey.litner@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2010 8:39 PM
To: Brett Kintzer
Subject: Question about your beer

Hi:

I am wondering if your beers are vegan.  I do not use any ingredients derived from an animal including gelatin, milk, honey, whey, casein, isinglass, etc. I am interested both in the filtration process and in the ingredients that go into the beer itself. Thank you for your help.

Stacey

____________________________________________________________________________________

Williamsburg AleWerks (mostly vegan):

Hey Stacey,
You are correct in that the Pumpkin Ale, Coffeehouse Stout, and Cafe’ Royale are not vegan. They contain lactose (milk sugar). We never use Isinglass or any other animal derived products in our beers aside from the previously mentioned. Hope that helps.

Geoff

Hi Geoff:

I am wondering which of your beers are vegan.  I do not use any ingredients derived from an animal including gelatin, milk, honey, whey, casein, isinglass, etc. I am interested both in the filtration process and in the ingredients that go into the beer itself.  I was on the Tuesday tour and had a chance to ask you quickly about which beers are vegan.  I wanted to follow up with you to make sure I remember correctly.  I have a blog with a few friends where we write down everything we consume and I want to make sure I post accurate information. I believe you said that the pumpkin ale, coffeehouse stout and the coffee royale are not vegan, but everything else is.  If possible, can you let me know what makes them not vegan? Also, are all of your other beers vegan including the reserves and the brewmaster’s selections.

Thanks again for your help.  I loved all of the beers I got to taste at the store (the Tavern Ale and Washington’s Porter are my favorite) and I bought a bunch of the ones we didn’t get to taste so I can try them all.

brunch at bread and brew: soy latte and iced tea. mushroom pizza with arugula added and a tofu frittata with home fries (the pizza was great, the frittata wasn’t very good)

dinner (shared with crispen): chipotle vegetarian burrito

snacks: leftovers from bread and brew, horseradish hummus and italian bread from trader joes and kettle salt and vinegar chips

drink: miller high life. i previously confirmed with the company that it’s vegan. in case you forgot here is their response:

Thank you for contacting MillerCoors.

MillerCoors does not use any animal by-products in our brewing process, nor are there any animal sources used in our packaging. Isinglass is not used in our brewing. There are five basic ingredients in all MillerCoors products. These include pure water, malted barley, corn syrup, hops, and yeast. Corn syrup is one of the basic ingredients used in most MillerCoors products as US consumers prefer its taste. Again, we do not use animal derived ingredients in our beer.

We appreciate your interest in our products.

Sincerely,

MillerCoors Consumer Affairs Department
Ref: Case#N20551580
——————————————————————
I am wondering if your beers are vegan.  I do not use
any ingredients derived from an animal including gelatin, milk, honey, whey,
casein, isinglass, etc. I am interested both in the filtration process and
in the ingredients that go into the beer itself. Thank you for your help

breakfast: grapes

lunch at Meiwah: vegetable soup (they promised me they could make it vegan), brown rice with soy sauce and seaweed salad

snack: more grapes (I ate a bunch and then realized that some are moldy…perhaps this is why i haven’t felt well all day)

dinner at Zaytinya: grape leaves, falafel, Piyaz (warm giant beans, kale, oven roasted tomato, garlic), roasted cauliflower, cucumbers (their bread isn’t vegan, but they will give you cucumbers instead), hummus

beer: peak organic nut brown (vegan according to barnivore. i just sent an email to them to confirm. i will post their response when i receive it).

more beer info:

Ithaca Beer Company:

Dear Stacey,

In general, most of our beers can be considered vegan as the ingredients are wheat (includes barley and rye), hops, water, and yeast.  We have a couple beers that incorporate some additional ingredients though, like alpHalpHa, which derives its exceptional flavor from local alfalfa honey.  This is done once a year and very limited in quantity, but you should know that it is processed through the same tanks and fermenters as our vegan-friendly beers.

Also, Apricot Wheat is made with a natural flavor extract, so more research would need to be done to know if the extract contains any animal derived products.

Please check out website for beers we brew.  There is a listing of the malts and hops used, and any additional ingredients that we used to bring out a specific flavor.

Sincerely,

Allison Graffin

________________________________________________________

Hi Allison:

Thanks for getting back to me.  Is the filtration process vegan?  Since it sounds like most of your beers are vegan, is there a way to get a list of the beers that aren’t vegan? I have looked on the website, but it doesn’t provide me with enough information to decide if a beer is vegan or not vegan.

Thanks,

Stacey

_________________________________________________________

Stacey,

Good question.  Our filtration process uses cellulose filters that do not contain any diatomaceous earth.

Beers that contain animal product:

Excelsior! alpHalpHa (honey)

Excelsior! Eleven (lactose)

Beers that may contain animal product through trace contact:

Excelsior! Brute (aged in oak barrels previously used by winery)

Excelsior! Old Habit (aged in whiskey barrels previously used by a whiskey distillery)

Apricot Wheat (natural extract may not be vegan)

Beers that are made with water, malt, hops and yeast:

CascaZilla

Flower Power

Pale Ale

Nut Brown

Cold Front

Ground Break

Ex! White Gold

Partly Sunny – also contains lemon zest, orange zest, and coriander

Sincerely,

Allison

________________________________

Allison Graffin

Marketing Director

Ithaca Beer Co.

www.ithacabeer.com