Most of Bell’s beers are made with four main ingredients: water, malted
barley/wheat, hops and yeast. Any other special ingredients, such as the
wheat in Oberon, Oarsman and Winter White Ale, the coffee we use in
Java Stout, or the honey used in Hopslam for example, will be
mentioned on their beers labels.
All of their beers are vegetarian and most are vegan except for the ones that use honey and lactose.
They also use some flavorings and juices. Some of their beers are flavored in different casks (wine, bourbon, whiskey, etc.), but those will be labeled on the bottle. They do not share their facility with any other brewery and their kitchen is completely separate from their brewing facility.
According to Star K's guidelines, their unflavored beer should be acceptable.
This blog is to obtain more information about beers around the country. This is by no means a stamp of approval from any kashrut agency. This is information that can be used to ask your local Rabbi.
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This blog started out as an email correspondence between a friend and myself on our quest to find more information about which craft beers m...
Rhinegeist
Rhinegeist Brewing is a beer that I've seen multiple times in stores and was interested in trying.
They do make beers with cocoa, coffee, fruit, and spices, so you should be careful about those depending on what your Rabbi says. They do not make any of the odd beers, but they do make a beer with lactose, honey, and fruit juices. They also age some beers in wine casks. They do not share anything with other breweries and while there is a pub in the same building, they are operated completely separately and do not share equipment.
The interesting thing about Rhinegeist that I am still looking into is that they do use champagne yeast in some of their beers (limited circumstances). Since it's made from grapes, that can be a kashrut concern. I am currently waiting on more information from the Star K and Rhinegeist themselves regarding this detail. I will update when I have more information.
Before we were aware of the champagne yeast, their unflavored beer fit the Star K standards. However, at this point in time, I'm not sure where it stands until I get more information.
Update: The champagne yeast is only used in some of their Outer Reaches program and is bottled carbonated with a cork and cage top, so they are obviously different. That makes it easy to tell which ones use the yeast and which don't. You should be able to have their unflavored beers, but ask you Rabbi.
Update part 2: According to the Star K and CRC, champagne yeast is not an issue.
They do make beers with cocoa, coffee, fruit, and spices, so you should be careful about those depending on what your Rabbi says. They do not make any of the odd beers, but they do make a beer with lactose, honey, and fruit juices. They also age some beers in wine casks. They do not share anything with other breweries and while there is a pub in the same building, they are operated completely separately and do not share equipment.
The interesting thing about Rhinegeist that I am still looking into is that they do use champagne yeast in some of their beers (limited circumstances). Since it's made from grapes, that can be a kashrut concern. I am currently waiting on more information from the Star K and Rhinegeist themselves regarding this detail. I will update when I have more information.
Before we were aware of the champagne yeast, their unflavored beer fit the Star K standards. However, at this point in time, I'm not sure where it stands until I get more information.
Update: The champagne yeast is only used in some of their Outer Reaches program and is bottled carbonated with a cork and cage top, so they are obviously different. That makes it easy to tell which ones use the yeast and which don't. You should be able to have their unflavored beers, but ask you Rabbi.
Update part 2: According to the Star K and CRC, champagne yeast is not an issue.
Left Hand Brewing Co.
Left Hand Brewing Co. is one of my favorite brews. I especially enjoy their Octoberfest and Fade to Black.
The plus side to this brewery is that they do not have a pub or restaurant side at all. They are only a bottling facility, so that makes things a bit simpler. They do use ingredients other than the four basic in some of their beers and website. Thankfully, those ingredients are listed on those beers. They use wine casks on some beers, but those beers are only available in their tasting room, not bottled.
They do make a milk stout and used to make a saison that used lactose and honey respectively. They have discontinued the saison though this past year. Those are two of the main beers that use flavorings.
According to Star K guidelines, the unflavored Let Hand beers should be fine.
I look forward to trying more of their beers.
The plus side to this brewery is that they do not have a pub or restaurant side at all. They are only a bottling facility, so that makes things a bit simpler. They do use ingredients other than the four basic in some of their beers and website. Thankfully, those ingredients are listed on those beers. They use wine casks on some beers, but those beers are only available in their tasting room, not bottled.
They do make a milk stout and used to make a saison that used lactose and honey respectively. They have discontinued the saison though this past year. Those are two of the main beers that use flavorings.
According to Star K guidelines, the unflavored Let Hand beers should be fine.
I look forward to trying more of their beers.
Shillow Beer
A friend suggested to take a look at Shillow Brew Co. in Canada.
I reached out to them and their main brewery is under the COR's supervision. While they do not ship to the US yet, they are in the process off building a new brewery and shipping to the US is on their list of things to do. They are hoping to have either the COR or another kashrut agency supervising the facility.
Next time I'm in Toronto, I definitely plan on trying them and look forward to seeing their product in the US. If you see them around, give the beer a try.
I reached out to them and their main brewery is under the COR's supervision. While they do not ship to the US yet, they are in the process off building a new brewery and shipping to the US is on their list of things to do. They are hoping to have either the COR or another kashrut agency supervising the facility.
Next time I'm in Toronto, I definitely plan on trying them and look forward to seeing their product in the US. If you see them around, give the beer a try.
Heavy Seas Brewery
Heavy Seas seems to have some interesting beers so I decided to email them and ask about their process.
They do have some experimental beers on their 15bbl line, no oyster though. The issue is that their experimental line does share clamps, hoses, etc with their main brewing line. Nothing from the brewpub/restaurant is shared with the brewing facilities.
They have brewed mead using pasteurized honey and occasionally brew with some fruit (mainly for their TropiCannon). Heavy Seas also ages some beer in wine casks, so that depends on how you hold regarding casks. They do not let their equipment sit empty and dry for 24 hours and they did not give me details regarding temperatures for cleaning, which can make kashrut difficult if the keilim ever became non-kosher. They do not share facilities with other breweries which is a plus.
Since they share equipment between their main line and their experimental line, this would require a lot more investigation and possibly a trip to their facility to get more information.
Ask your local Rabbi regarding this beer (and all others on this blog).
EDIT: After contacting the Star-K, they said that Heavy Sea's unflavored beer is acceptable.
They do have some experimental beers on their 15bbl line, no oyster though. The issue is that their experimental line does share clamps, hoses, etc with their main brewing line. Nothing from the brewpub/restaurant is shared with the brewing facilities.
They have brewed mead using pasteurized honey and occasionally brew with some fruit (mainly for their TropiCannon). Heavy Seas also ages some beer in wine casks, so that depends on how you hold regarding casks. They do not let their equipment sit empty and dry for 24 hours and they did not give me details regarding temperatures for cleaning, which can make kashrut difficult if the keilim ever became non-kosher. They do not share facilities with other breweries which is a plus.
Since they share equipment between their main line and their experimental line, this would require a lot more investigation and possibly a trip to their facility to get more information.
Ask your local Rabbi regarding this beer (and all others on this blog).
EDIT: After contacting the Star-K, they said that Heavy Sea's unflavored beer is acceptable.
Great Lakes Brewery
Great Lakes Brewing Company caused a lot of noise in the Ohio area recently. They have been making an oyster stout for years, but until recently it was only in their brew pub and did not affect the kashrut of their main brewery where their bottled beers are made. (Kegs are another story beyond the scope of this blog as they may have come from the main brewery or the brew pub, depending on which beer). This past summer they made the oyster stout in the main brewery and that made everyone balk at
their beer. That is actually what caused me to start looking into
breweries in the first place. This is a touchy subject, but I decided to
address it to give everyone the information I have.
Until recently, Great Lakes' unflavored beer was acceptable by most standards (including the local organization from my understanding) before their oyster stout in the main brewery. Since then, more information has been gathered to determine it's status. The details for the oyster beer is that the amount of oyster they used was less than 1/60th of the vat, but since it's there for the taste, the beer IS still 100% TREIF. However, since the amount of oyster is under 1/60th though, it's still null regarding the VESSELS it was made in and doesn't make the VESSELS treif.
Therefore, after looking into it, some kashrut agencies say their non-flavored beers that are bottled are still kosher. However, others firmly state that once a brewery is known to produce non-kosher beers, the only way to be certain that any beer they make is kosher is to have official kosher supervision in the brewery. GLBC's situation really gets to the heart of the beer kashrut conundrum. It shows that in the microbrewery industry, even with a large microbrewery such as GLBC, standards that have been in place for years that allowed an assumption regarding kashrut, can be changed in an instant. Yet in many situations, even with the change the unflavored beers are still kosher.
This is a tricky one, so ask your local Rabbi before purchasing. If they say it's OK, I highly suggest their unflavored beers. They are solid and consistently good.
Until recently, Great Lakes' unflavored beer was acceptable by most standards (including the local organization from my understanding) before their oyster stout in the main brewery. Since then, more information has been gathered to determine it's status. The details for the oyster beer is that the amount of oyster they used was less than 1/60th of the vat, but since it's there for the taste, the beer IS still 100% TREIF. However, since the amount of oyster is under 1/60th though, it's still null regarding the VESSELS it was made in and doesn't make the VESSELS treif.
Therefore, after looking into it, some kashrut agencies say their non-flavored beers that are bottled are still kosher. However, others firmly state that once a brewery is known to produce non-kosher beers, the only way to be certain that any beer they make is kosher is to have official kosher supervision in the brewery. GLBC's situation really gets to the heart of the beer kashrut conundrum. It shows that in the microbrewery industry, even with a large microbrewery such as GLBC, standards that have been in place for years that allowed an assumption regarding kashrut, can be changed in an instant. Yet in many situations, even with the change the unflavored beers are still kosher.
This is a tricky one, so ask your local Rabbi before purchasing. If they say it's OK, I highly suggest their unflavored beers. They are solid and consistently good.
Columbus Brewing
Columbus Brewing doesn't have a lot of beers out, but they seem to keep adding to their list and what they do have is quite tasty (I have a few of them before I knew to look into their brewing process).|
-They use mostly the 4 main ingredients in beer. Occasionally they use wheat, corn, or rice. They rarely use spices, and when they do it's clearly labeled.
-They occasionally brew a milk stout with lactose and on rare occasions use honey (usually unpasteurized). These are labeled as well.
-They don't use wine yeast or actual wine, or fruit juices.
-They have a sour line that uses wine barrels.
-They do not have a taproom, pub, or restaurant. They are only a brewery at this time.
-They do not use clarifying agents.
-They do not share facilities.
-They use the standard cleaning and sanitation standards
Based on the Star-K's standards for beers, Columbus Brewery's unflavored beers are acceptable. I have heard great things about their IPA, Oktoberfest, and their Farm Ale. I went out a few months ago when I received this email and checked them and grabbed a pack of their Oktoberfest. I was very happy with it and is one of my favorites.
-They use mostly the 4 main ingredients in beer. Occasionally they use wheat, corn, or rice. They rarely use spices, and when they do it's clearly labeled.
-They occasionally brew a milk stout with lactose and on rare occasions use honey (usually unpasteurized). These are labeled as well.
-They don't use wine yeast or actual wine, or fruit juices.
-They have a sour line that uses wine barrels.
-They do not have a taproom, pub, or restaurant. They are only a brewery at this time.
-They do not use clarifying agents.
-They do not share facilities.
-They use the standard cleaning and sanitation standards
Based on the Star-K's standards for beers, Columbus Brewery's unflavored beers are acceptable. I have heard great things about their IPA, Oktoberfest, and their Farm Ale. I went out a few months ago when I received this email and checked them and grabbed a pack of their Oktoberfest. I was very happy with it and is one of my favorites.
Thirsty Dog Brewing Company
After a few attempts to reach Thirst Dog Brewing, I got a call back from a brewer there. He spent a few minutes going over my lists of questions with me. I wont go into all the details as it was a 15 minute conversation. However, here are some of the main points of this discussion:
-They do not share facilities with any other brewery
-They do not have any beers with oyster, animal, or insects parts
-Their brew house and pub are seperate and do not share any equipment
-They do use fruit, lactose, and unpasteurized honey in some beers. Those are listed on the bottle when used.
-They have a sour beer line that is aged in wine casks.
-They don not use any clarifying agents
-They have a strict cleaning process that also allows for 24 hours between fillings.
-Their brewpub has an 8 hour CIP sanitation
I learned they have over 80 beers that they make. I have had their beers before I knew that I needed to look into each brewery and am excited to add them to my list of beers again. I especially enjoy their Old Leg Humper Porter, Twisted Kilt Scotch Ale, and their Barktoberfest beers.
According to the Star-K standards, the UNFLAVORED beers are acceptable.
-They do not share facilities with any other brewery
-They do not have any beers with oyster, animal, or insects parts
-Their brew house and pub are seperate and do not share any equipment
-They do use fruit, lactose, and unpasteurized honey in some beers. Those are listed on the bottle when used.
-They have a sour beer line that is aged in wine casks.
-They don not use any clarifying agents
-They have a strict cleaning process that also allows for 24 hours between fillings.
-Their brewpub has an 8 hour CIP sanitation
I learned they have over 80 beers that they make. I have had their beers before I knew that I needed to look into each brewery and am excited to add them to my list of beers again. I especially enjoy their Old Leg Humper Porter, Twisted Kilt Scotch Ale, and their Barktoberfest beers.
According to the Star-K standards, the UNFLAVORED beers are acceptable.
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