St Patrick's Challenge

With St Patrick's Day on the way, our thoughts turn to all things Irish. Pretty soon advertisers will be encouraging the nation to enjoy a pint or two of the black stuff - the black stuff in question being stout. Stout, a full-bodied, rich, traditionally strong drink made with roasted unmalted barley, has two main styles - the dry, Irish version and the sweet English version.

As March the 17th approaches, The Vegetarian Society would like to issue a challenge to brewers in the UK to produce a nationally available stout which everyone can enjoy. At present, none of the major producers have a product which isn't fined with animal derived material. The use of animal derived products in the production of alcoholic beverages is fairly widespread, not because no alternatives exist, but because they always have been used.

It is not easy to find out whether alcoholic drinks are suitable for vegetarians. A clause in the 1984 Food Labelling Regulations excludes from the 1984 Food Act all drinks with an alcohol content exceeding 1.2% by volume (ABV), so only very low or non-alcoholic beers, wines and ciders are required to list all ingredients.

In our quest for improved choice for vegetarians, we are challenging the major brewers of stout, pub chains and retailers to provide a nationally available stout that everyone can drink by St Patrick's Day 2003. We will be challenging the brewers through the media and contacting them directly.