Answer: Yes.
Stone Beer is 100% vegan-friendly as it doesn’t contain animal-sourced ingredients or by-products.
Talking about versatility, I could say it’s beer. I mean, why not? Beer is everyone’s go-to alcoholic beverage on and off parties. Luckily, many breweries have joined the bandwagon of producing vegan-friendly drinks, including Stone Brewing Co.
Stone Brewing Co has been paving the way for vegans to have high-quality beers without sacrificing any of our animal friends. The brewery uses a vegan whirlfloc and a mineral powder to clarify and filter beer. With that being said, we can say that Stone Beer is suitable for vegans.
Whether you’re just starting your vegan journey or simply looking for booze, you’re in the right place. Let’s find out more about Stone Beer.
Table of Contents
Stone Brewing Co, Your World-Class Brewery
Back in San Marcos, California, in 1996, Greg Koch and Steve Wagner started Stone Brewing Co with a mission to create high-quality beers. At that time, there were no competitive beers in the market. So, the duo decided to produce one with excellent quality that can stand the test of time.
Its flagship beer called Stone Pale Ale was making huge waves in the market until it was phased out in 2015. But Stone Brewing Co is best known for its brand Arrogant Bastard Ale, which put San Diego on the map.
In most of its stores in California, Stone Brewing Co sells beer bottles, growlers, and kegs.
Apart from its breweries in California, Stone Brewing Co opened its brewery in Berlin, Germany, in 2016. It started its beer distribution across Europe, including Austria, Sweden, the Baltics, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Northern Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, and the United Kingdom.
Stone Beer is known for its high hop content, a trademark of craft brews on the West Coast. The majority of Stone Beer features above-the-average alcohol percentages between 4.8% and 13%.
Stone Brewing Co has been awarded different accolades and has been voted the number one “All-Time Top Brewery on Planet Earth” by BeerAdvocate. It has also been rated as a “World-Class Brewery” by RateBeer.
Today, Stone Brewing Co has over 1,000 employees.
Stone Beer Is 100% Vegan-Friendly
Stone Brewing Co prides itself in producing vegan-friendly beers. Most of its brews are already vegan, so it doesn’t use isinglass or gelatin as a clarifying agent.
In an email to Barnivore, Stone Brewing Co made it clear that it uses natural and plant-based ingredients in brewing its beers, except for some that may use lactose or honey. When it happens, the company explicitly states it on the label. In fact, its former Head Brewer of nine long years is a vegan.
So here are the ingredients that make Stone Beer vegan-friendly.
- Kelp. Stone Brewing Co uses kelp-based whirlfloc in clarifying its beer instead of isinglass. It contains natural carrageenan similar to Irish moss that helps reduce haze This makes the beer come out fairly clear.
- Haborlite, Perlite. During the filtration process of Stone Beer, haborlite, an inert mineral powder, is used, or sometimes perlite, an amorphous volcanic glass. These are organic and naturally sourced, which means they’re safe for vegans.
- Hops. These are the flowers of the plant Humulus lupulus that are used as a flavoring, bittering, and stability of beer with hints of floral aroma and taste.
- Grain Alcohol. This is what makes you get drunk when you drink beer. It’s a purified form of neutral spirit or ethanal made of corn, wheat, rye, grapes, grains, sugarcane, tubers, and beets.
- Water. Unless the water that you drink is filtered through a carbon filter that’s made from animal bones, then it’s not safe for you. However, the majority of water, filtered or not, is considered vegan-friendly.
- Barley. Although this is not gluten-free, it’s one of the Stone Beer ingredients that’s vegan-friendly alongside other grains such as quinoa, brown rice, and oats, among others.
- Yeast. Since it doesn’t derive from animals but is only a member of the fungus kingdom, yeast is considered vegan.
Stone Beer Nutrition Facts
In a nutshell, most beers are filled with calories that have no health significance. About 40% of beer calories actually come from carbs, and the other 60% comes from alcohol. So, the higher the beer’s alcohol content, the higher the calories you get too.
Have you heard people complaining about excess stomach fat due to drinking beer? Yes, that’s it. When beer is consumed excessively, you’ll gain a lot of calories that become excess fats in your belly. We call it beer belly.
So, if you’re curious about what you can get from drinking a bottle of Stone beer, here’s a standard figure of its nutrition facts. One bottle is equivalent to 435 g. It’s worth noting that this is only an estimated figure of the standard bottle of Stone Beer.
- Calories. 197
- Total Fat. 0 g
- Cholesterol. 0 mg
- Sodium. 16 mg
- Potassium. 85 mg
- Total Carbs. 6.6 g
- Protein. 1 g
- Vitamin A. 0%
- Vitamin C. 0%
- Calcium. 1.2%
- Iron. 0.7%
If you notice, the calories that you get from a bottle of Stone Beer are already high. If you drink about five bottles in one sitting, you’re already storing roughly 1,000 calories. Drinking bottles don’t just get you drunk, but it also gives you extra fats that are stored in your belly.
The USDA has warned to limit your daily calorie intake to 2,000 to keep things healthy. But alcohol is also addicting, which is why many drinkers complain about having stored fats in their bellies.
Beer Health Benefits
So, is beer healthy?
Yes, beer is healthy when moderation is observed. According to this research, a drink or two of beer for men and women can help lower the risk of heart disease and stroke.
It may also help improve blood sugar control, which often happens to those who have diabetes. Moderate beer intake can also aid stronger bones, especially in older men and women. It may also help reduce the risk of neurodegenerative diseases, including dementia.
However, it’s worth noting that these health benefits are only associated with moderate alcohol or beer intake. Heavy alcohol intake can lead to death, cancers, liver disease, addiction, weight gain, and other adverse health issues.
To say the least, beer intake has pros and cons.
Stone Beer Products
Stone Beer has several different variations to choose from. And almost all of these are vegan-friendly unless it’s explicitly stated on their label that they may contain lactose or honey.
Here are some of the top products of Stone Brewing Co that you can safely drink when the time calls for booze.
- Stone IPA
- Stone Delicious IPA
- Tangerine Express Hazy IPA
- Hazy Double IPA
- Stone Hazy IPA
- Belgian White
- Double IPA Sans Filtre
- Stone Triple IPA
- Japanese Green Tea IPA
- Tres Leches
- Self-Righteous Black
- Grapefruit Slam
- Cloud Gazer
- Imperial Star Fawker
- Stone Liquid Poem
- Vengeful Spirit
For more information about Stone Brewing Co’s products, you can visit their website.
Beer Ingredients To Look Out For
Finding vegan alcoholic beverages can be a little tricky. But nowadays, there have been many manufacturers that have started producing vegan-friendly drinks, including Stone Brewing Co.
A global firm called BeVeg issues vegan certification to manufacturers that produce vegan-friendly food and beverages. Its certificate is often seen on every food or drink label, which means that the product doesn’t include animal products and isn’t also tested on animals.
So, if you see this on your beer label, you’re safe.
Back to the topic. So what are the ingredients to look out for when buying or drinking beer, especially when it’s not vegan-certified?
More often than not, ingredients are explicitly listed on the packaging or label of food and beverages. For your guidance, check these non-vegan ingredients. But if you’re still in doubt, the best option is to contact the manufacturer.
- Isinglass
- Gelatin
- Honey
- Chitin
- Cochineal and Carmine
- Whey, Lactose, and Casein
- Eggs
- Milk and Cream
Isinglass, gelatin, chitin, and casein are the most common ingredients in beer that are used as clarifying and filter agents. You should look out for these ingredients because they are derived from fish bladders, animal skin, cartilage, and bones, as well as milk and shellfish.
Luckily, Stone Beer doesn’t have any of these ingredients, which means one thing, it’s booze time!
Vegan-Friendly Beer Brands
As I said, many manufacturers have joined the bandwagon in producing vegan-friendly beverages. But apart from Stone Beer, there are other brands you may want to consider the next time your beer cravings won’t let you sleep at night!
- Corona Extra, Corona Light
- Budweiser, Bud Light
- Coors, Coors Light
- Michelob Ultra
- Guinness Draught
- Guinness Original XX
- Miller Genuine Draft
- Miller High Life
The Takeaway
Stone Beer is vegan-friendly as it doesn’t involve any animal-sourced ingredients or by-products. The majority of Stone Brewing Co’s beers are natural and plant-based, which is safe for those who follow a vegan diet.
Apart from the brands that I listed above, there are also other brands that you can opt for, including Modelo Chelada, which you can find out more about in this article.
Lastly, drinking in moderation, as you always see in alcohol ads, is crucial to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Say no to binge drinking!
