---

Brewmasters, winemakers, and distillers may include unclean animal ingredients in their products directly, or they might use them in the processing and filtration.

For those that are unaware, during the beer and winemaking process, the liquid is filtered through substances called “fining agents.” This process is used to remove protein, yeast, cloudiness, “off” flavors and colorings, and other organic particles. Popular animal-derived fining agents used in the production of wine include blood and bone marrow, casein (milk protein), chitin (fiber from crustacean shells), egg albumen (derived from egg whites), fish oil, gelatin (protein from boiling animal parts), and isinglass (gelatin from fish bladder membranes).

Thankfully, there are several common fining agents that are clean and used to make clean alcohol. Carbon, bentonite clay, limestone, kaolin clay, plant casein, silica gel, and vegetable plaques are all suitable alternatives.

An extensive list of clean and unclean wines, beer, and liquor is available at Barnivore.com.

---