Brewery Information Page D

Deschutes Brewery     (Bend, Oregon)    

Website: http://www.deschutesbrewery.com
Concerns: Some of the used grain from brewing process sent to farmers for livestock feed. The remaining spent grain is used as fertilizer. [25]
Correspondance: 5/28/03, 5/29/03
"At Deschutes Brewery we do not add any animal product / byproducts to our beers. The only ingredients we use are: Barley, Malted Barley, Wheat, Hops, Yeast, Water, Water additions= CaSO4 (Calcium Sulfate), Kettle additions= Breakbright which is modified Irish moss(seaweed) used for clarification & ZnSO4 (Zinc Sulfate) as a yeast nutrient.
We do a course sheet filtration (7 micron) to remove the yeast, then we kraeusen (add fermenting beer (wort and yeast) back to the tank and mix then package) to allow for a secondary fermentation in the bottle. We believe this adds desirable flavor to and extends the shelf life of our beers. This is the fine layer of yeast you will see on the bottom of our bottles. At times this yeast will flocculate together and if you mix up the bottle you will see large floc's of yeast. We recommend you decant of the yeast into a glass or you can drink it, it's good for you (brewer's yeast). Our filter sheets are impregnated with DE, diatomaceous earth. DE is the skeletal remains of microscopic plants which were deposited on ocean and lake bottoms during the Miocene Period 21 million years ago.
As for Isinglass and Gelatin- We have used it at our pub in the past for special beers, but have never added it to any of our products that go out for distribution. All of our brewers rotate thru the pub and have the choice of brewing a beer of their choice and taking it thru the process as they please. While some have experimented with these finings it seems most prefer to haul the filter down from our plant and take the extra time to filter rather than fine it. I would say that probably 98% of the beers at the pub are unfiltered." [26]
"We sell our spent grain to dairy farmers for their cows when we're done with it. Our spent yeast also goes to cows, excess is used as fertilizer. Hope this helps." [25]

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery     (check web for distribution locations)    

Website: http://www.dogfish.com
Concerns: Midas Touch has honey as an ingredient. All other products are vegan. The spent grain is used as livestock feed. [36]
Correspondance: 6/10/03
"We use honey in the Midas Touch. We do not fine our beers, and filter with diatemaceous earth. All of our spent grains go to the cows, and a farmer is using our spent yeast to fertilize his fields." [36]

Dogwood Brewing Company     (Atlanta, Georgia)    

Website: http://www.dogwoodbrewing.com
Concerns: IPA (India Pale Ale) is sometimes fined with gelatin. Used grain is sent to a dairy farmer for feed and to a bakery where it is made into a bread. [27]
Correspondance: 5/28/03
"All of our beers are made without any animal products and are safe for even the strictest vegans - except for our IPA. We do use gelatin finings in that beer sometimes. And you're right, the gelatin does not end up in the beer, but it is used in the process of clarifying the beer. That is the only beer where we use it. All of our other beers do not. And that is the trickiest part concerning brewing regarding this issue. Many breweries do use processing agents, but are not aware of it or purposefully decide to not discuss it. All of our beers are all-natural, no preservatives, no chemical additives of any kind, and are unpasteurized." "We give our spent grain to a dairy farmer who feeds his cattle. We also give some to a restaurant/bakery (Bacchanalia/ Star Povisions) who bakes a wonderful bread with it." [27]

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Posted/Updated: 7/27/03