Is cider vegan? This is one of the most common cider-related questions typed into Google and is also a popular question that our customer service team at Brothers are asked very often.
Choosing to go vegan means making careful choices when it comes to your food, but what about your favourite drinks? When it comes to cider, many vegans think that it is safe to drink because after all, it's just fermented apple juice, right?
Unfortunately, the answer is not always so clear because while cider at its core is simply made from pressed apple juice, it is often the processing of the cider that isn't vegan-friendly. After all, many cider companies will use a fining agent during the filtration process that is made from animal products.
Vegan-friendly cider processing
Many alcoholic beverages are produced using fining agents such as egg whites, fish swim bladders, isinglass, chitin from crab shells, collagen and gelatine from animal sources to filter and clarify the drink to make it look more attractive.
However, these days it is much easier to enjoy vegan alcohol drinks that are entirely plant-based, such as vegan beer, real ale, wine and fruity ciders. You just need to check the drink manufacturers website for details about their vegan range.
Smaller breweries are now using vegan-friendly alternatives in their drink processing such as Bentonite clay or cellulose filter sheets for the filtration and clarification process.
You can still enjoy cider as a vegan
As the UK is the largest consumer of cider per capita, and with the demand for vegan-friendly alcoholic drinks on the rise, it makes a lot of sense for cider makers to offer a range of vegan ciders that incorporate other fruits and popular flavour alongside traditional apple cider.
In fact, vegan cider-lovers can now indulge in a wide range of flavours and styles, including clear, cloudy, very pale to rich amber hues. No matter whether you like a mellow still cider or a refreshing fizzy buzz, very sweet, or a tangy tartness to your cider drink, there will be something to enjoy and share with your friends.
As Brothers cider is both gluten-free and vegan friendly, we even have accreditation from The Vegan Society.
Brothers’ vegan-friendly cider range
You may be unaware that to gain official accreditation from the Vegan Society, you need to go through a very thorough process where every ingredient and process we use to make our vegan cider range is highly scrutinised.
The Vegan Trademark was introduced in 1990 and celebrated its 30-year anniversary in 2020. The trademark was introduced to make it easy for consumers to identify vegan-friendly products at a glance and to be able to buy and consume them with confidence knowing that they have not been tested on animals or are made using animal-based ingredients.
