I have to confess, I’m not a beer drinker, but there’s someone in my household that loves it, so I had to figure out the truth. Is beer really healthy? Why are the ingredients not listed on the label? Which brands can we trust? Which brands are trying to slowly poison us with cheap and harmful ingredients? All of these questions were going through my head at once at lightning speed. So a year ago, I started to research what was really in beer and after questioning several beer companies, reading books about food science, and talking to experts, the information I discovered was downright shocking.
I see it all the time. Someone who eats organic, makes the right choices at the grocery store, is fit and lives an extraordinarily healthy lifestyle but then drinks beer like it is going out of style.
Caring about what you eat doesn’t necessarily translate into caring about what you drink and this is a HUGE MISTAKE.
Before we get into what exactly is in beer that you should be worried about, let’s talk about how body reacts to alcohol in general.
Alcohol is metabolized by the body differently than all other calories you consume. Alcohol is one of the only substances that you consume that can permeate your digestive system and go straight into your bloodstream. It bypasses normal digestion and is absorbed into the body intact, where it goes straight into the liver.
Your liver is your main fat-burning organ. If you are trying to lose weight or even maintain your ideal weight, drinking alcohol is one of your worst enemies. The liver is going to metabolize alcohol first vs. the fat you want to get rid of – making weight loss even harder. Additionally, one of the primary functions of the liver is to remove environmental toxins from your body – if it is overtaxed with alcohol, the normal removal of these toxins becomes extremely diminished and can result in rapid aging, loss of libido, and other diseases.
The one thing that has gotten me before and I’m sure many of you – is the health marketing claims on alcohol products making drinking them seem like a good idea and an added “benefit” to your health. The low alcohol content of beer makes it appear as an innocuous beverage and something people throw back without even thinking about it. Who hasn’t seen those studies that say a beer a day is great for you (I want to ask who ever stops at just one beer?)?
So, inherently, alcohol by itself is not a healthy person’s best friend – but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Beer, especially American beer, is made with all sorts of ingredients beyond the basic hops, malt and yeast. There are numerous other ingredients used to clarify, stabilize, preserve, enhance the color and flavor of beer.
When you drink beer, there is almost a 100% chance that you don’t know what you are drinking (unless you quizzed the beer companies like I did). The ingredients in beer are not required by law to be listed anywhere on the label and manufacturers have no legal obligation to disclose the ingredients. For regular beer, calorie levels and percent alcohol are optional and for light beer calories are mandatory but alcohol levels are optional.
Michele Simon, a public health lawyer, author of Appetite for Profit, and president of Eat Drink Politics told me the reason that beer companies don’t disclose ingredients is simple: they don’t have to.
“Ingredient labeling on food products and non-alcoholic beverages is required by the Food and Drug Administration. But a whole other federal agency regulates beer, and not very well. The Department of Treasury – the same folks who collect your taxes – oversees alcoholic beverages. That probably explains why we know more about what’s in a can of Coke than a can of Bud. You can also thank the alcohol industry, which has lobbied for years against efforts to require ingredient labeling.”
I figured if the beer companies aren’t required to tell us the exact list of ingredients, I needed to investigate this for myself and asked them the pointed questions until I got the truth.
First of all, I was able to obtain a baseline list of “legal” additives allowed in beer from the book “Chemicals Additives in Beer” by the Center of Science and Public Interest. This list allowed me to ask specific questions about each beer I investigated. For example – beer sold here in America can contain several of the following ingredients:
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Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) – alcohol is already addictive with some people, but with MSG?! Holy smokes.
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Propylene Glycol (an ingredient found in anti-freeze)
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Calcium Disodium EDTA (made from formaldehyde, sodium cayanide, and Ethylenediamine)
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Many different types of sulfites and anti-microbial preservatives (linked to allergies and asthma)
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Natural Flavors (can come from anything natural including a beavers anal gland)
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High Fructose Corn Syrup
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GMO Sugars – Dextrose, Corn Syrup
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Caramel Coloring (Class III or IV made from ammonia and classified as a carcinogen)
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FD&C Blue 1 (Made from petroleum, linked to allergies, asthma and hyperactivity)
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FD&C Red 40 (Made from petroleum, linked to allergies, asthma and hyperactivity)
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FD&C Yellow 5 (Made from petroleum, linked to allergies, asthma and hyperactivity)
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Insect-Based Dyes: carmine derived from cochineal insects to color their beer.
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Animal Based Clarifiers: Findings include isinglass (dried fish bladder), gelatin (from skin, connective tissue, and bones), and casein (found in milk)
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Foam Control: Used for head retention; (glyceryl monostearate and pepsin are both potentially derived from animals)
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BPA (Bisphenol A is a component in many can liners and it may leach into the beer. BPA can mimic the female hormone estrogen and may affect sperm count, and other organ functions.)
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Carrageenan (linked to inflammation in digestive system, IBS and considered a carcinogen in some circumstances)
During my investigation, I couldn’t get a single mainstream beer company to share the full list of ingredients contained in their beer. But I did get some of them to fess up to the use of these ingredients in writing so I’m going to share this information with you now.
Carcinogenic Caramel Coloring
Newcastle, a UK brand, confessed to using what I would consider one of the most controversial food additives. Toasted barley is usually what gives beer its golden or deep brown color, however in this case, Newcastle beer is also colored artificially with caramel color. This caramel coloring is manufactured by heating ammonia and sulfites under high pressure, which creating carcinogenic compounds. If beer companies were required by law to list the ingredients, Newcastle would likely have to have a cancer warning label under California law because it is a carcinogen proven to cause liver tumors, lung tumors, and thyroid tumors in rats and mice.
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
Many of the beers I questioned contained one or more possible GMO ingredients.
- High Fructose Corn Syrup (Guinness – unable to provide an affidavit for non-GMO proof)
- Corn syrup (Miller Light, Coors, Corona, Fosters, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Red Stripe)
- Dextrose (Budweiser, Bud Light, Busch Light, Michelob Ultra)
- Corn (Red Stripe, Miller Coors Brand, Anheuser-Busch Brands)
Most beers brewed commercially are made with more GMO corn than barley. Many of the companies I contacted dodged the GMO question – however Miller Coors had a very forthcoming and honest response. They stated “Corn syrup gives beer a milder and lighter-bodied flavor” and “Corn syrups may be derived from a mixture of corn (conventional and biotech.)”, admitting their use of GMOs.
Pabst Blue Ribbon responded saying their corn syrup was “special” and “made of carbohydrates and some simple sugars like dextrose and maltose. The sugars are fermented into alcohol and CO2, and the carbohydrates, both from the corn syrup and the malt, remain in the beers as flavor, color and body components.”
Dextrose and maltose can come from a variety of substances that are sweet, but likely are derived from GMO corn because it is super cheap for a company to use corn instead of fruit or other non-GMO sources. With cheap beer – you are not just getting a cheap buzz, you are getting the worst of the worst. Just like with cheap fast food – if you don’t invest in your beer – you will be drinking a lower quality product like Pabst Blue Ribbon that is made from GMO Corn and Corn Syrup.
In 2007, Greenpeace found unapproved and experimental GMO Rice strain in Anheuser-Busch (Budweiser, Bud Light) beer. Anheuser-Busch responded saying their US-grown long-grained rice “may have micro levels” of a genetically engineered protein called Liberty Link, but added that the protein is “substantially removed or destroyed” during the brewing of beer sold domestically. Don’t you think it’s hard to trust any beer company that gets caught using experimental food made in a laboratory? GMOs have not been tested long term on human beings and one of the main pesticides (Roundup) they spray on GMO crops are linked to inflammation, cancer and other diseases.
High Fructose Corn Syrup & Fish Bladders
Speaking of trusting companies, let’s get one thing straight, Guinness beer is no longer owned by the Irish, they are now owned by a large beer conglomerate called Diageo and manufactured in over 50 different countries. No matter how many St. Patty’s Day celebrations you’ve had with this dark stout, it’s time to stop because they use high fructose corn syrup in their beer (4/2/14 Update: Guinness Beer claims they do not use high fructose corn syrup any longer, but refuses to disclose ingredient affidavits or full of list of ingredients.) But, Guinness beer also contains isinglass, a gelatin-like substance produced from the swim bladder of a fish. This ingredient helps remove any “haziness,” solids, or yeast byproducts from the beer. Mmmmm… fish bladder sounds delicious, doesn’t? The sneaky thing this beer company does like many of the companies mentioned here today is create an illusion of using the best ingredients when in actuality what they tell you publicly on their websites is a complete farce. On Guinness FAQ’s – they have a question that states: “What are the key ingredients in Guinness” and the answer doesn’t reveal the whole picture – it only states “Our key ingredients – other than inspiration – are roasted, malted barley, hops, yeast and water.” What BS, right? You have to call, email, question and know the right things to ask to even have a chance at getting the truth. This is insanity.
So What Beers Are Additive and GMO Free?
If you enjoy the occasional beer and wish to maintain your healthy lifestyle, choosing one without GMOs and additives is ideal. Unfortunately, most of the mainstream beers available have additives, but luckily, there are a few that don’t. For example, Sierra Nevada, Heineken, and Amstel Light (7/31/13 UPDATE: It has come to my attention that Heinken USA has changed their formula to use GMOs – I called their customer service line 1-914-681-4100 to confirm and asked for the list of ingredients – the man told me “water, yeast, malted barley and hops” – then I asked if their beer contained any genetically engineered material and he confirmed “YES,” but wouldn’t tell me what ingredients are genetically engineered. They recently changed their formula after my initial research that started in late 2012.) (8/1/13 Update: Heineken reached out to me personally to say their customer service department made an error in telling me and others who called their beer has GMOs. I met with a head brew master and have viewed affidavits from the company and confirmed Heinken and Amstel Light do not contain GMOs – they apologize for the confusion.) appear to be pretty clean (but these companies still wouldn’t disclose the full list of ingredients to me. They did say they use non-GMO grains, no artificial ingredients, stabilizers or preservatives).
German Beers are also a good bet. The Germans are very serious about the purity of their beers and enacted a purity law called “Reinheitsgebot” that requires all German beers to be only produced with a core ingredient list of water, hops, yeast, malted barley or wheat. Advocates of German beers insist that they taste cleaner and some even claim they don’t suffer from hangovers as a result.
An obvious choice to consider is also Certified Organic Beers. They are required by law to not include GMOs and other harmful additives. Organic beers also support environmental friendly practices and reduce the amount of pesticides and toxins in our air, support organic farmers – which is a huge plus. (To this day, the beer drinkers in my family haven’t found one they love so if you have suggestions, please let us know in the comments!)
Craft & Microbrews Beers – For certain local craft and micro beers, you can ask those companies for a list of ingredients and many of them will be up front with you. However, companies like Miller Coors are slowly closing in on craft beers and buying them up one by one… like they did when they created the unique popular variety called Blue Moon (the beer you drink with an orange) and Anhesuer-Busch did this with Rolling Rock and Goose Island Brewery. Make sure your favorite craft and microbrew is still independently owned and controlled before taking a sip.
In the end – if you decide to drink beer, you are definitely drinking at your own risk for more reasons than just the crazy ingredients that could be in them. The key point to remember is – if you like to drink beer and want to be healthy, drink it infrequently and quiz the beer companies for the truth. Find a beer that you can trust and stick with it.
For your reference, here are some important questions to ask your favorite beer company:
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What are the ingredients in your beer – all of them from start to finish?
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Are any of your ingredients GMO?
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Do you use any soy, corn, or rice processing ingredients? (Examples include: dextrose, corn syrup, etc.)
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Do you add any natural, artificial flavors or colors to the beer? (Examples include: yellow #5, caramel coloring, red #40, MSG, natural flavors)
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Are there any additional preservatives, stabilizers and/or clarifying agents added to your beer during processing? (Examples include: propylene glycol, Calcium Disodium EDTA, anything ending in “sulfite” like sodium metabisulfite, Heptylparaben, isinglass)
If you know someone who drinks beer – share this post with them.
These ingredients are no joke. We must inform and protect each other from these industrial chemicals, untested and potentially harmful ingredients and it starts by sharing your knowledge with the ones you love.
Bottoms up!
Food Babe
Propylene Glycol is not the ingredient in anti-freeze. That is Ethylene glycol, although there is some in anti-freeze, just as in Mt. Dew.
For very dark beer. And I mean ones that you can not see through when poured into a clear glass and held up to the light. I know of two I like and hopefully both are not victimized by bad brewing practices. The one that may be is called Mackeson Stout, it is imported but may be brewed under authority of some brewer here now. The other is from a micro brew in San Antonio, Texas it is called Wildcatter’s Stout made by the Yellow Rose Brewing Company. Wildcatter’s is the better of the two but may be harder to find. I’ve only found it at liquor stores and at the Flying Saucer Restaurant and pub. It also is a 1997 world champion gold medal winner.
Thank you for this enlightening article! It’s something I’ve always wondered about. I am curious-did you search into Natural Light? I know we can’t always trust “natural” on labels, so I wonder if this beer is misleading us?
-concerned girlfriend of a beer drinker
natural light is owned by anhieser-busch(sp) and is more than likely in the groupings of “bud” and “cheap beer” refered to in the article. my dad drinks it daily and i stole quite a few in high school. haha. probably won’t touch it now.
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Propylene Glycol is also a humectant. A polyol or poly-alcohol like glycerin! It’s an excellent humectant, gelling agent and stabilizer. It can be found in anti-freeze and ranch dressing and it serves the same purpose – all the glycols (including glycerin) reduce the freezing point of water probably through disruption of hydrogen bonding. There are many ingredients we use that can be found in other products, but being a possible inclusion in anti-freeze doesn’t make propylene glycol a bad thing. You could use glycerin in anti-freeze for the same purpose, but it isn’t used that way because it would gunk up your car!
You’re probably right, it may be harmless. It may or may not mess with human health. The bottom line is if these things are so “safe” for humans, what is the big deal with COMPLETELY labeling your product? Something smells…
It never occurred to me that people who drink beer care anything about their health.
Haha, that’s right. What an incredible, insightful assumption! People who drink beer completely don’t care about their health.
For the record, try studying nutrition. There are actual health benefits to beer. And drinking a glass a day… can actually be beneficial, just like wine.
For the record, the healthiest people I know all have drank beer
Seriously? You must not know that many health conscious people. Or you know the type that think “healthy” is using artificial sweetener, fat free, carb free, etc. Me and most of the people I know are triathletes, mountain bikers, cyclists (who ride more in a week than most people will in years), runners, etc…people who would sooner eat cow testicles than miss their daily workout. And all of them are avid beer drinkers, beer snobs even. Most good races of the year are celebrated with good beer from local microbreweries.
Cows don’t have testicles. 😉
The world’s top elite athletes (marathon runners, sprinters including Usain Bolt and others) all have beer as a staple in their diet because of the calories and carbs it contains. Clearly the author of this post doesn’t understand the fermentation process, which changes the sugars into alcohol and renders then inert. If your afraid of the extra presevatives, buy from a microbrew that doesn’t use them.
And why bash alcohol and then post a pic at the end holding a glass of white wine??? SERIOUSLY!!!??!
I thought I would shed some light. Propylene Glycol is used as a secondary cooling agent in the walls of fermentation vessels, not in beer. I’m surprised you didn’t make this clearer in your article. EDTA is a chelating agent used to bind to metal ions in the water. All those fining agents bind with proteins in beer and fall out of solution. These items, EDTA and fining agents, do not make in to the bottle.
Propylene glycol algenate can also be used as a foam stability enhancer.
My husband is in love with Samuel Smith’s Organic Chocolate Stout!
Samuel Smith’s has some great Organic brews!
I second Samuel Smith. One of the best lines of beer I have ever had!
If there’s anything good to read in your article (about adulterants ADDED TO beer) I haven’t seen it yet. I’m still croaking on the part where you say alcohol is bad _per se_. In other words, the beginning. Your story title is “shocking ingredients in beer”, and you begin with alcohol! If you throw people off like this at the start, many won’t believe the other things you have to say.
What the heck is so bad about putting animal parts in anything? Do you think of HOPS as something terrible “added” to beer? I know cheese gourmets do not appreciate your revelation that it’s curdled with rennet, *which is a substance that comes from a _calf’s stomach_!!* And the milk itself from a cow’s udder. What I would want to know is the origin of those animals (wild, farm, factory) and if they are genetically modified.
What a lot of stuff and nonsense. I don’t know where to begin so I’ll begin at the beginning with the assertion that beer itself is inherently bad for you no matter how ‘pure’ it is. There is no question that abuse of beer can do your liver a mischief but numerous recent studies have show that the ethanol itself has a positive effect on the cardiovascular system and that the flavones (from hops) are anti carcinogenic. Men who drink beer in moderation have higher life expectancy than men who don’t or who drink it to excess.
Sulfites: yes, my beer contains sulfites but I don’t put it in there. The yeast do. It is a natural product of fermentation. They also produce acetaldehyde, diacetly, ethyl hexanoate, ethyl acetate, glycerol (the Germans even modified their brewing process in order to produce nitroglycerine from this during WW I) and a whole host (hundreds) of other chemicals which are in large part responsible for the flavors and aromas of beers. In a properly made beer these are in just the right amounts to give the desired flavor and aroma profiles and yes, some of them are nasty tasting and smelling if in excess not to mention poisonous. Acetaldehyde is one up from formaldehyde in the aldehyde series and has a similar smell (sort of). At low levels it confers a fruity taste.
My beer also contains sulfuric acid but again I don’t put it in there. Nature does. My water contains it and so does yours (unless you are drinking distilled water). And no, the water treatment plant is not responsible as my water comes from a well. But, if you are interested in frightening the ignoramuses that read your stuff, and clearly you are, you could point out that many municipal water treatment facilities use sulfuric acid (and other similar harsh chemicals) to render the water you drink safe and potable.
GMO’s? Who cares? I’m a GMO, you’ra GMO. Man has been modifying the genetic structure of the plants and animals he eats since he took up agriculture and nature does the same. It’s called evolution.
Now I’m not saying that no brewery ever put something harmful in its beer. One in Canada used cobalt sulfate for improved head and sicked (perhaps even killed) a few people by doing this. That’s why Ludwig promulgated the Reinheitsgebot in 1516 (still more or less in effect through the Biersteuergesetz today).
There are lots of reasons not to drink many of the beers listed in the article most of which is because they aren’t very good beers. If good beer is wanted make it yourself or obtain it from one of the many craft breweries. If you buy the garbage in the article note that craft breweries are no guarantee that you will get tree-hugger beer. Sierra Nevada, for example, uses phosphoric acid in many of there beers. Oooo! Ugggh! That sounds nasty, doesn’t it? But it isn’t. Barley, even organically grown, contains lots of it.
Isinglass (fish swim bladders): Part of a long tradition in British brewing. I eat all kinds of fish. Even raw (as sushi – but not fugu) and love it. What’s the problem with the swim bladder?
I would encourage anyone contemplating accepting any of what was in this article to find some one who actually knows something about brewing
Obviously this guy is a shilll for gmos as he says: “GMO’s? Who cares? I’m a GMO, you’ra GMO. Man has been modifying the genetic structure of the plants and animals he eats since he took up agriculture and nature does the same. It’s called evolution.”
MEANWHILE IN REALITY: French scientists conclude FIRST EVER long-term study of GMO on rats; extensive research PROVING GMO CORN causes horrific tumors in rats, killing 70 p
Nice try, bub. Just because someone does not agree with you, that does not make them a “shill”.
This blog post is filled with so much misinformation it makes my head spin. Ask a home brewer like myself, or any professional brewer about many of her comments. She doesn’t have a clue.
+1
Talk to a brewer!
That organic, locally farmed, sustainable ear of corn you just bought wouldn’t be edible on the cob without GMO. The corn the Pilgrims were introduced by the Native Americans could only be eaten ground because the kernels were hard and starchy not soft and sweet.
That organic, locally farmed, sustainable chocolate bar is also legally allowed to have bug parts, that doesn’t mean it has them.
Uuhhhmmm…GMO’s are NOT responsible for the organically grown ears of corn we eat being edible. That’s the way they always have been. There are many varieties of corn, some not fit for human consumption at all (they are only suitable as feed for livestock).
That having been said, there is something bad in just about everything we eat, even totally natural, “organic” foods. Alcohol in small amounts is indeed healthy for you, to say nothing of taking an edge off a tough working day. We need to apply some sensibility to this. The Europeans would laugh at us after reading the first part of this article.
On the subject of GMO’s…sorry, folks, but the (scientific) jury is still out on what sort of harmful effects, if any, GMO’s might have on our health. There is a very good reason, health aside, for rejecting GMO’s, namely it screws over the small/family/organic farmers and represents a blatant attempt by Monsanto and other companies to gain absolute control over our food supply. And I will be the very first to say that people have the right and deserve to know what is going into their foods so that they can decide for themselves what to buy and what not to buy.
Biased!!! She is holding a glass of wine in that picture.
That’s her green smoothie. It’s not wine.
Wrong, she is holding a glass of white wine at the end of the article. I doubt she even drinks beer.
MORE BEER!!!! seriously, there’s crap in everything. the least we can do is enjoy a beer. and when the good ones are not available or the wallet is thin, the cheap crap will do just fine. \m/
Isinglass is not “in” the beer as it is a fining agent that settles to the bottom and the clarified beer is racked off of it. It is considerably more “natural” than other agents used by brewers in the pursuit of clear, non-hazy beer. Oh, and that glass of wine she is holding? Likely it had been fined with isinglass as well–extensively used by wineries. Unless you are a vegan, who cares?????
Actually isinglass does stay in the beer somewhat (but really who cares) Thhey actually allowed use polyclar (a plastic fining) in beer in Germany as it can be filtered out. Isinglass cannot be fully removed so it is not allowed.
While I don’t disagree with most of your statements about brewing, I believe you’re confusing GMO with hybrids and/or selective breeding. Breeding and selecting for specific traits is completely different from a genetically modified organism. GMO’s actually have the gene of another plant or animal (often fish) spliced into their DNA, thereby artificially altering the DNA.
http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/
Hi Erin – Food Babe definitely knows the difference. She has done tons of research on GMOs. https://foodbabe.com/2012/09/26/the-united-state-of-gmos-keeping-us-in-the-dark/
Thanks for reading!
Whether it’s done through selective farming or chemically it’s a Genetically Modified Organism -as A.J. said everything is GMO.
GMO is too broad a term and therefore dangerous to throw it around like a buzzword for conspiracy theorists which is all I think this article is.
Drink craft beer! No one is putting those guys out of business. It’s booming! FYI jester king out if Austin Texas makes a USDA organic beer called boxers revenge. Check them out if you can find it.
Jester King is fantastic. I’ve only had the El Cedro. But, it was just wonderful.
Peak Organic from Maine has a few delicious brews, not sure if they are certified organic though.
I once volunteered at a beerfest in the Peak tent, and I remember that it was the only organic brand represented. Very small batches.
I second this! Good stuff..
Yes, they sure are!! Super delicious and 100% organic. Not only are they currently net- neutral for not allowing pesticides and other chemicals into the soil and environment but in collaborations with alike companies to create hops/barley and other ingredients that will be net-positive!
What about Sam Adams or Yuengling?
Try Mill St. Organic from Toronto Canada. Fantastic & clean!
Love your articles and this one in particular. I knew beer additives were bad, but man! And the GMO issue was one I hadn’t even considered. I re-posted this one to our Wellness Solution Facebook page. Thanks for all your hard work. Greg Haitz, DC, CSCS
I’d be interested to see a similar article on wine. I saw an episode of Dispatches back in 2008 that discussed what really goes into wine–not just American wines, but, worldwide. I think it’s called “What’s in your Wine?” I haven’t been able to drink champagne since then.
Eel River Brewing Company makes delicious organic beer
Agree! Love Eel River….and it’s America’s first certified organic brewery 🙂
Budweiser makes a gluten free beer that tastes good! Its called Red Bridge, for any of u gf beer drinkers, there’s more than just Ciders out there now to drink:)
This is brilliant. I’ve long expected as much since alcohol companies don’t have to pit ingredient lists on their bottles. Can you do this for Cider and Wine too!?? I guess it will be much the same result.
Ugh… really? Propylene Glycol is an ingredient in antifreeze. You know what else it’s in? Toothpaste, chewing gum, deodorant, soap, cosmetics, inhalers… and a ton of other things I can’t recall. We smear ourselves in it daily, unless we don’t like bathing. And for the record, WHICH antifreeze is key: The one which is known for killing dogs? That’s the one which contains Diethylene Glycol, which is nasty as hell. That’s the antifreeze which is “scary”, but you couldn’t be bothered to point that out, could you? I’m glad you’re pretending to care, but please… quit lying to people. Many brewers list their ingredients right on the bottle now, it’s actually one of the marks of a good brewery.
For your beer drinker, check out Peak Organic brews. They are a craft brewer in Maine, but are available at Trader Joe’s in CA. I don’t believe they are certified MOFO, but are a Fair Trade company. My personal favorite is their Espresso Amber Ale [beer AND coffee 🙂 ]
Here is their website to check them out: http://www.peakbrewing.com/category/about-us/
There are an AMAZING amount of craft breweries popping up right now country wide (13 just in Maine this year), so odds are you’ll be able to find a less harmful beer for your beer drinker.
WE CANT FORGET ALL THE BEERS BREWED WITH FLUORIDATED WATER. Someone needs to do a fluroride free beer article as well.
Face it we can find something scary about everything we consume. Think about the air you breathe everyday.
People, let’s not make too much of the Rheinheitsgebot (the German Purity Law). This was implemented more out of practicality than a desire for “pure” ingredients. Duke Wilhelm IV of Bavaria decreed in 1516 that, from that time on, wheat was to be reserved for the bakers and barley for the brewers (before that, bakers and brewers were competing – often viciously – over who would get how much wheat). The Duke decreed this Purity Law to restore order and prevent any future famines. So it has a very practical side to it. As it turns out, the Hofbrauhaus in Munich was exempted from the Purity Law, as it was the (royal) Court brewery. Granted, the Purity Law also forbids other things from being added to beer, such as fruits, spices, nettles and mushrooms. But it’s no longer enforced and hasn’t been for a long time, so it’s more of a tradition and a marketing gimmick than anything else.
For the love of god, what about Fat Tire?!?!?!?
i was wondering the same thing. i know they have an organic variety, but what about the rest! surely a company who gives bikes to employees must be good, right?
Ok…time to take off the tinfoil hats!!! If the Thunder won’t get you the Lightning will. Or, you can be like me and may others and make your own damn beer. I have 6 taps going at all times. 5 varieties of Beer and a keg of seltzer. Support local Craft Breweries and you will not have to worry about your insides my precious lil snow flakes ;0)
Most, if not all Vermont beers are certified organic and vegan… And there are some wonderful brews out there from that state. (Magic Hat probably the best-known.)
Sorry Food Babe this is a stupid, half cocked post on your behalf. Many homebrewers use some of these ingredients in their creations, and your assertions concerning some of the ingredients are partial or even untruths. Further your post appears remarkably similar to another beer bash I read a couple days ago that contended isinglass, since it is made of “fish bladders” is used to color beer yellow! While it’s actually made of fish SWIM bladders (swim bladders hold air, not urine by the way), the color is translucent white…. Isinglass finings are used in beer, and God forbid wine (maybe the white you’re holding in your pic), to assist in clearing very fine, suspended particles that cause the beer or wine to be hazy.
Could you please list which beers you included in your study? Thankfully, I drink virtually only microbrews, so I’ve dodged the bullet most of the time.
Thanks,
Allan
Take care of everything in one fell swoop: brew your own.
Excellent post!!! I like the occasional beer and usually go with German for exactly these reasons. We all need to be asking these questions and refusing to buy things with gmos–Then and only Then will it change.
Thank you. I am plant based and had not considered the ingredients in beer. Appreciate the article and looking forward to your wine article
Ian Welch
I stopped reading after you misleadingly used the categorization “especially American beers”. I had to keep going though, it became somewhat of a challenge to debunk this (that and the kids were watching Teen Beach Movie so I opted for the easier….).
– “When you drink beer, there is almost a 100% chance that you don’t know what you are drinking ” – How is “almost 100%” logical? Within this is the “YOU don’t know but I know” You don’t know me, or any of my friends but you clainto know more than me about beer?
– “Propylene Glycol (an ingredient found in anti-freeze)” Actually it’s Ethylene Glycol. BUT beyond that oh so scary hyperbole, H2O is also found in anti-freeze. OH EM GEE! Stop drinking water it’s found in anti-freeze.
– You mention “hyperactivity” A LOT. Hyperactivity is found in children. Does this mean children are in beer as well? Someone pass me a Soylent Green IPA.
– Isinglass. You actually mention isinglass several times. Isinglass is harmless and used to help with yeast floccuation. BFD. Even some homebrewers use isinglass.
– “Most beers brewed commercially are made with more GMO corn than barley.” This is COMPLETE BS. AB started using a mild addition of corn pre-prohibition to make their beer a little lighter for Americans who needed a beer that wouldn’t slow them down during lunch. It was the dawn of capitalism and the German bier gardens didn’t have the same place here as they did there. Long of the short your full of it. Corn is an adjunct and nothing more.
Does you know what’s in that wine your drinking?
You do get one point for suggesting to drink local. That I dig. Drop the sensationalism and just educate not preach.
Great article! I love that the craftbrew industry (1,700 independent brewers and growing) has grown for the LOVE of a great beer, not profits. In my Chiropractic practice, I’ve simplified it …basically I tell my peeps to stay away from ALL corporate level foods and beverages are made for profits FIRST, nutrition …well…not even in the equation. The great news is MIller and Bud and the rest of the American pee-water industry is making very few inroads into buying these brewers. I guess some people still want a good life producing a good product for good people that doesn’t require all the corporate trapping that just lead to stress and heart attacks.
Thank for the info. I have been on to this information for a while now and have cut down my intake…my favorite organic beer is PEAKS ORGANIC of Maine (IPA and PALE are delicious and a lot of great seasonals too). Get your hands on some, you wont be disappointed.Cheers!
Just so you know, Guinness is indeed owned by Diageo, which is based in the UK. However, the company was actually founded by the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan – A property company involved primarily for capital. At the time, Guinness had already taken control of many Scotch Whisky distillers, and proceeded to buy up myriad brands (like Smirnoff and Johnnie Walker.) So, in effect, Guinness is not owned by the world’s largest spirits company, the world’s largest spirits company is owned by Guinness! Also, though they brew Guinness everywhere, almost all of the non-Irish stock makes its way into their cans and bottles. Almost all of their draught Guinness (from the tap) is still produced at the St. James Brewery in Dublin – this is one reason why, globally, Guinness Draught is almost uniformly – and very expensively – priced.
To the larger point of this post: yes, mass-produced American beer is sh*t. But everyone already knew that (I hope). Stick to microbrews (especially Australia, they have much tougher restrictions and more transparent brewers), Belgians, Germans, and Real Ales. Incidentally, they are almost uniformly VASTLY better tasting than American “standard” beers. While all of these usually have more calories than “Lite” Beer (in itself, a tragedy of taste,) that extra fullness in body and flavour generally prevents over-indulgence. Ask your average friend that drinks a sixer of Molson in one night to try the same with 6 bottles of Erdinger (German) – they will stop from being full after 2 or 3.
In short: pay more to drink better beer and less of it. I won’t claim that most people will actually only have one a night (that’s rare), but usually less than normal – say, 2-3 instead of 3-5.
And again, they taste vastly better.
Slainte!
One of the most inaccurate and misleading articles I have EVER read. I wonder if she is aware that, that glass of wine she is holding up likely contains the very same “fish bladder” she criticizes as being used as a clarifying agent in beer. Also, just so you know, the very definition of a clarifying agent means there is none of that ingredient present in the finished product (you failed to mention that little tidbit of information, likely because it doesn’t help to further sensationalize the point that you are so clearly trying to make).
There is about 15-20 statements in this article that are either misleading or simply untrue. A shocking display of irresponsible and bias reporting.
Hello!
Isinglass is technically made from a bladder, but not the urinary bladder. It is made from the swim bladder, a buoyancy sack that fish use to maintain their equilibrium and maintain a consistent depth in the water.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swim_bladder
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isinglass
Thanks for all you do Vani! I appreciate you taking the time to educate us on things we sometimes don’t want to hear. But if we want to be the healthiest we can be, sometimes we have to make the sacrifices and cut down on the things we love! Thank you again!
German breweries are using a lot of sustances that are not required to be listed on the label beneath a certain level. The big companies, like Löwenbräu, Franziskaner and alike use genetically modified yeast to secure the level of output, stable quality and faster processing. Even here in Bavaria, where I live, you can only confide in the small breweries who still employ some kind of professional honour, especially the organic ones.
The “Reinheitsgebot” (precept of purity) from 1516 was- see zappafan´s comment above- implemented to prohibit the use of anything else than water, hops and malt, but only for Bavaria then – for all of Germany the law was established in 1906- as many brewers still used other ingredients to give the drink a cheap kick – henbane and mushrooms being the most dangerous ones, often with a lethal outcome – as malt and hops were quite expensive then. The first laws regarding that were given by the city of Landshut in 1486, München (munich) in 1487 and the duchy of Niederbayern in 1493, which led to the law for all of Bavaria in 1516. This is for the ones who might be interested in historical matters.
Zum Wohl
Bison Organic Chocolate Stout…A+ in my book!
Foodbabe, my new source for scare tactics, half information and out right BS.
I love how four paragraphs are spent demonizing alcohol in beer, but the last picture is her drinking a glass of wine that is clearly over the recommended amount for a glass…
I guess you don’t see the humor! 🙂
Jade , you need to lighten the Food Babe was only trying to lighten things up and come across as ‘holier than thou” Right Food Babe?
Must be an avid beer drinker~ Read it again SAM~
Love your humor! 😉
I do not understand why, after attempting to destroy a person’s possible love of beer, you make no mention what so ever of the hundreds, maybe even thousands , of the craft brewers in North America who take extreme pride in preparing their beers with totally organic ingredients, and process their fine products with only the tragedy care and understanding of their responsibility. No mention at all-shame on you.
She is not trying to destroy someone’s love of beer! And she does mention drinking craft and microbrew beer – go back and reread the post. She just wants everyone to be aware of CRAP beer! CHEERS!!!
I think someone works for Coors-Miller!
Rosie, if you read the entire article, you would have seen the part about “So what Beers are Additive and GMO Free?…. German Beers are also a good bet. The Germans are very serious about the purity of their beers and enacted a purity law called “Reinheitsgebot” that requires all German beers to be only produced with a core ingredient list of water, hops, yeast, malted barley or wheat. Advocates of German beers insist that they taste cleaner and some even claim they don’t suffer from hangovers as a result.
An obvious choice to consider is also Certified Organic Beers. They are required by law to not include GMOs and other harmful additives. Organic beers also support environmental friendly practices and reduce the amount of pesticides and toxins in our air, support organic farmers – which is a huge plus. (To this day, the beer drinkers in my family haven’t found one they love so if you have suggestions, please let us know in the comments!)
Craft & Microbrews Beers – For certain local craft and micro beers, you can ask those companies for a list of ingredients and many of them will be up front with you. However, companies like Miller Coors are slowly closing in on craft beers and buying them up one by one… like they did when they created the unique popular variety called Blue Moon (the beer you drink with an orange) and Anhesuer-Busch did this with Rolling Rock and Goose Island Brewery. Make sure your favorite craft and microbrew is still independently owned and controlled before taking a sip.
How about Canadian Beers? Eh?
After reading this article I emailed Guinness and within minutes received the following response:
“Thank you for taking time to contact Guinness. Your feedback is important to us.
Regarding your inquiry, please be assured that high fructose corn syrup is not an ingredient used in Guinness.”
This is the email I received from them:
Thank you for taking time to contact Guinness. Your feedback is important to us.
In regard to your inquiry, our key ingredients in Guinness Draught are roasted, malted barley, hops, yeast and water. Regarding our ingredients list as a whole, while we appreciate your interest in Guinness, it is our policy not to provide proprietary information to external parties for private or commercial purposes. Public information regarding our company and brands is available on our website: http://www.diageo.com
Guinness Draught does contain barley and does contain high-fructose corn syrup, but does not contain soy. I don’t currently have information on whether the product contains dextrose, but if you request it I will be happy to forward the inquiry. There are no GMOs (genetically modified organisms) in Guinness Draught. If there is anything else we could help you with now or in the future, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Once again, thank you for contacting Guinness.
Sincerely,
Steve R.
Guinness Consumer Representative
How strange. Hard to know what to believe from them…
Food companies – and presumably beer companies as well – are constantly tweaking their recipes, adjusting ingredients……more of this, less of that, take something out, our something in. So the fact that you received differing responses does not conclude that someone is being dishonest!
Major beer brewers hardly tweak their recipes at all unlike craft brews. Once you get big, people like a certain taste and they prefer that not changing batch to batch. But I’m always willing to change my mind about an issue if you can bring something to the table.
There is a lot of misinformation here. If you are going to drink the equivalent of processed foods in the beer world, you should expect this. Isinglass is merely a flocculent used to clarify. It forms a gelatin type puck at the bottom of the fermenter and is used to remove free floating solids in the beer and is mostly not transferred to the final product. Bottom line drink micro brew or brew your own like I do. I know exactly what is my beer down to the ppm of mineral composition. Like any form of healthy eating, you get what you pay for, but to demonized beer is unfair.
Why remove the sediment, I have to say that’s pretty dumb of the modern guiness brewery. That’s probably the most nutricious part; at least that’s what I like to see in my microbrews; captured by porches oat/rye has a good bunch of that cloudy stuff; yumm
The thing about the isinglass/gelatin, is there’s a much more effective(in my experience as a brewer, anyway) method that isn’t open to the kind of criticism that the others do. I’m talking about Irish Moss. No animal products, no GMO, vegan-friendly, you name it. I don’t agree with the problems the writer had with isinglass and gelatin, but to be fair there are other alternatives.
Very balanced comment and attitude. I liked it, Drew.
Irish moss is a natural source of MSG OMG. (It’s also the same thing basically as carigeenan which has its own dubious reputation.)
Time also works as a good clarifier in my experience, but time is not friendly to a lot of beers. Enjoying the haze (which has no flavor) is my preferred method. I’ve never noticed irish moss
Yeah so anyway, msg is a naturally occurring amino acid, and one of the most common (found in almost all foods). Isinglass has been used as a clarifier for beer and wine for centuries, also a whole natural product. I don’t drink any beer that involves corn in its ingredients list, period, so that’s hardly a concern.