Mussel Inn beer is Vegan Friendly

(September 2011):

"Douglas says 'Some of their beers are contract brewed by Invercargill Brewery in kegs and bottles, and these contain isinglass.
All of their bottled beers served at the Mussel Inn venue, and all Mussel Inn beers in 1.3 litre plastic bottles are still vegan.'"

Company Email:
"We don't use any animal products in any of our products we make here at the Mussel Inn. As far as I know our other producers don't either but I can guarantee this.

Of course, in saying this, I am assuming that you do not regard yeast or bacteria as 'animal' - both of which are involved in the production of our products - the former very much so. We try to treat our yeast as humanely as possible - creating the most favorable conditions we can for good healthy reproduction during primary fermentation. However, once fermentation is complete, it's a different story. Cold temperatures are used to limit the activity of the yeast and encourage it to settle out in order to clear the products. Once clarity has been achieved, the product is racked off into another vessel and the yeast is discarded. Much of this yeast will still be alive, just in a subdued state. The unwanted yeast is introduced to an active composting system where it would die - probably with a couple of days. I'm not really sure if this is cruel or not - it's a very hard one to judge. In the natural scheme of things, fruit would fall on ripening and fermentation would occur spontaneously - followed by decomposition, so I guess it's not too far different."