Budweiser is known for being a refreshing lager with a malt flavor and a slightly sweet aftertaste, without a doubt it is one of the most popular beers on the market today. It is available in both cans and bottles and can be purchased almost anywhere. Although it is enjoyed by countless people around the world the question is; is Budweiser vegan?
Is Budweiser Vegan?
Yes, Budweiser is vegan, this is because it is brewed using only the 4 main ingredients used to make beer including water, grains (barley malt & rice), yeast, and hops. And unlike many beers on the market that use animal products to add flavor and to help with filtering, none are used in making this beer.
Budweiser Beer
Budweiser has been manufactured since 1876 by the world’s largest brewery Anheuser-Busch. It is by far the best-selling beer in the USA and is now brewed in more than 20 breweries across the country. It is also available in over 80 countries around the world with over 200 million barrels being sold yearly.
Taste wise it has a recognizably crisp, clear, and refreshing flavor with a dry finish. It has an alcohol percentage of 5% with an IBU of 12 and is considered by many to be a “premium” beer, hence the name king of beers.
Why is Budweiser Vegan Friendly?
Anheuser-Busch is one of a large list of beer companies that are now committed to using only vegan-friendly ingredients in the production of their beers. They have promised to remove any animal products from their recipes, including honey, gelatin, as well as lard, to name just a few.
As of right now all of the ingredients in Budweiser are non-animal products or their by-products including those used in the filtering and clarifying process. Where some companies use animal products such as isinglass (fish bladders) and gelatin for filtering Budweiser does not.
Ingredients in Budweiser
The main ingredients in Budweiser are water, grains (malted barley & rice), hops, and yeast; all of which are vegan.
Water makes up the majority of the ingredients in any beer.
The Malted barley is used to add a sweet taste and some color to the beer. It also provides the fermentable sugars that the yeast converts to alcohol, while the rice is added to help make a lighter body and flavor
The hops are used to balance out the sweetness of the malt by adding some bitterness, they are also used to add flavor and aroma.
And finally, the yeast is used to convert the sugars from the malt into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
Budweiser also undergoes an aging process over beechwood chips for approximately 3 weeks which is intended to increase its smoothness and has been done since it was first brewed back in 1876
So Can Vegans Drink Budweiser?
Yes, vegans can drink Budweiser as no animal products are used to make it and as such, it is considered to be vegan-friendly.
However, people do need to be aware that on the market there are many other beers that are not vegan including many of the craft beers brewed by the small microbreweries as they may contain ingredients such as honey, milk, or eggs for flavoring, as well animal products might be used during the filtering and clearing process.
Your best bet is to check the ingredients list before consuming any beer, but it is important to know that sometimes a brewery will not list the actual ingredients it uses in the filtering process. This is because those items are filtered out and “technically” do not make it into the final product, this may be suitable for them, but for vegans, it is not.
As such it is up to the consumer to do their own research, contacting the brewery or their beer reps directly is a good place to start, as is doing a search on the internet to see what filtering agents are used.
Last Call
There is no question that Budweiser has earned a solid reputation as being a vegan beer. Its commitment to using animal-free ingredients makes it a good choice for anyone looking to enjoy a delicious, refreshing beer without compromising their values or dietary restrictions.
P.S. Do you want to make your own vegan beer, doing so is not hard, simply stick with the 4 basic ingredients of a beer and don’t use any animal products to clear your beer. To get started pick up your gift of Big Robb’s top 5 favorite beer recipes from his brewpub. Details are on the side of the blog or at the bottom if you are on your phone. Cheers!