Bell's Third Coast Old Ale is Vegan Friendly

by Bell's Brewery
Address: 8938 Krum Ave.
Galesburg, Michigan, 49053
USA
Phone: (269) 382-2338
Fax: (269) 382-3820
Email: http://www.bellsbeer.com/contact/
URL: http://www.bellsbeer.com/
Checked by: Anthony
Double checked by: Jason, Karen, Hannah, Pavan, Anna, Scott
Added: over 11 years ago
Double Checked: about 6 years ago

From their website (https://www.bellsbeer.com/faq-page#t152n7504, retrieved January 2018)
"Most of our beers are made with just four main ingredients: water, yeast, barley and hops. Anything else will be mentioned on the label as well.

"All of our beers meet the criteria for vegetarian status.We do not use isinglass or other animal-derived process aids at any point in the brewing process. A majority of what we brew is unfiltered, except for our lager brands, and we do not use finings in any of those.

"With a few exceptions, everything that we package for distribution to bars and stores qualifies not only as vegetarian, but also as vegan.Those exceptions are Hopslam Ale, Sweet Potato Stout, Roundhouse IRA, Wedding Ale and Eccentric Ale, all of which contain honey. Arabicadabra also contains lactose or milk sugar."

Company email (February 2017):
"I am happy to inform you that, with four exceptions, everything we package for distribution to bars and stores qualifies not only as vegetarian but also as vegan. Those exceptions are Hopslam, Eccentric Ale, Roundhouse IRA and Sweet Potato Stout – all of which contain honey. Our Mead is also made with honey, but it is only available at the Eccentric Café in Kalamazoo."

Company email (July 2012):
"Most of Bell’s beers are made with four main ingredients: water, malted barley/wheat, hops and yeast. Any special ingredients, like the coffee we use in Java Stout for example, will be mentioned on the label as well.

All of our beers, whether they are brewed at our production facility in Comstock, Michigan or at our original brewery in Kalamazoo, meet the criteria for vegetarian status. We do not use isinglass or other animal-derived process aids at any point in our brewing process. Unlike most breweries, our beers are entirely unfiltered, except for our three lager beers, and we do not use finings in any of our brands.

With three exceptions, everything we package for distribution to bars and stores qualifies not only as vegetarian but also as vegan. Those three exceptions are Hopslam, Eccentric Ale and Sweet Potato Stout – all of which contain honey. Our Mead is also made with honey, but it is only available at the Eccentric Café in Kalamazoo."

Phone Contact (October 2011):
"to confirm their Two-Hearted Ale is vegan. It is."

Company email : April 2010
"All of our packaged products sold for retail are vegan with the exception of Hopslam as it is brewed with honey. The Eccentric Ale is more often than not, not vegan.By packaged beers I mean everything we sell out in the marketplace (bottles, kegs, mini cans and cask). We do some experimental beers at our pub, but those do not get out into stores."

Company email:
"All of the beer that we package for distribution to bars & stores qualifies as vegetarian. Occasionally, we will make specialty batches that may contain honey for our own pub or selected festivals. The most prominent is Eccentric Ale, a beer we make once a year in a very limited quantity. Customers can ask any of the bartenders at the Eccentric Cafe in Kalamazoo for information about the specialty taps. I should specifically mention that our Bell's Double Cream Stout does not contain any dairy-derived ingredients: the name refers to the creamy texture, not actual cream or lactose. You can find a list of our major brands at http://www.bellsbeer.com/brands.asp.

Update 2006-12-15: Gary from Bell's wrote in with a warning about Hopslam Ale:
I am writing to update you as to the status of a beer we launched as a new fall seasonal. Called Hopslam Ale, it broadly falls into the category of Imperial IPA (we're not big on style guidelines here). It does, however, contain honey as a source of fermentable sugar. Language to that effect was left off the initial run of labels, but I believe that will be corrected next season. I have already revised my standard reply to questions on whether our beers are vegan, and the presence of honey should be stated on our website as soon as we publish the next revision.

Company email 2 via Rick:
All Bell's products are vegan, with these exceptions:

(1) Hopslam Ale (contains honey)
(2) Eccentric Ale (contains honey)
(3) No "specialty brews" served at their bar should be considered vegan without consulting with the bartender/brewmaster, as others may contain honey.

Other products by Bell's Brewery: