Yuk
I always wondered why some beers are classified as Vegetarian and now I know 8O
Just found this article :?
Vegetarian beers do not use fish based finings to clear the beer.
Whilst the finings are not imbibed when beer is drunk, many vegetarians prefer to avoid many beers. Several breweries do produce and supply their real ales in a fining-free form. They may have a slight haze on them but they are perfectly acceptable to drink
Finings were first used by brewers in the 18th century to clarify beer when people started to drink beer from glasses rather than pewter or leather tankards. Finings were originally made from the swim bladder of sturgeon which were dried and then dissolved in phosphoric acid. The viscous white liquid produced is added to a cask of beer and the action of the finings attracts the fine yeast particles suspended in the beer till they are large enough to sink, under the influence of gravity, to the bottom of the cask and thus clarify the beer.
Today, whilst keg beers are filtered, pasteurised and gassed up at the brewery, real ale is put into the cask with yeast remaining so that there can be a secondary fermentation in the cask. Real ale is clarified using finings. Today the chief source of finings are from fish caught 10° either side of the equator.- species such as catfish, drumfish and threadfins.
You learn something new everyday
Mrs Fleagle :roll:
