After pleas and petitions, reports have Guinness going vegan next year by making a change in their brewing process that has been prevalent for over the past two centuries.
- Isinglass is made from fish bladders, used to filter yeast
- Guinness has been using isinglass for the past 256 years
- It will not change the taste of the brew, but likely only its texture
- The change will be implemented in 2016
It has been long requested by vegetarians and vegans all over the world to change the process that make it friendly for all. There are reportedly over one billion vegetarians in the world at the moment. It’s not farfetched to think that a good chunk of them are fans of the popular Irish brew.
As of 2016, Guinness has announced that they will be changing the 256 year-old recipe, by replacing a filtration component. Isinglass is a collagen made from fish bladder that helps yeast to settle quickly. It reportedly has absolutely no influence on the beer’s actual taste. It does, however, have an effect on its texture.
So, that might be the change to lookout for in your Guinness next year.
The use of fish byproducts has deemed the dark stout as unsuitable for both their vegetarian and vegan customers. The pressure has been higher since other beer-makers have turned their products ‘vegan friendly’, such as Heineken, Miller, and Anheuser-Busch. Next year, it will be Guinness’ turn to assure their customer base stretches out to non-meat-products eaters.
There could be several reasons for the change. For one, it could be to keep all their consumers satisfied. More importantly, this will come in lieu of the fact that it’s been a long tradition to use fish bladders to better filter the yeast.
Another reason could be the promotional angle that it will be boasting. Expectations have it that Guinness sales will certainly rise in 2016 after the new implementation will take place. Be it for the sake of vegetarians and vegans enjoy the brew, or just plain curiosity from their other customers, it’s very likely that their numbers will go up.
The third possible reason could be the online petition that has been requesting the popular beer-maker to adopt other methods to make it suitable for vegans. According to the Guinness fan that started it all and gathered over 1,700 signatures, there are numerous synthetic options or alternatives that don’t contain animal products.
The public has spoken, and Guinness listened. However, they have not unveiled what will be replacing fish bladders as their yeast-filtering compound. The Irish brew-maker refused to detail their choice, only that the new implementation will arrive at some point next year. Sláinte!
Image source: instinctentertainment.ca
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