100% VEGETARIAN BEER:

Just a quick word here to let you know that East End Brewing uses NO ANIMAL PRODUCTS OF ANY KIND at any point in our process.

And why would we? Well, let's just say that a long time ago, someone discovered that if you dumped the pulverized remains of a swim bladder from a fish (in particular, a Sturgeon) into a tank of fermented beer, it would have a clarifying effect on it. Say it with me now: YUCK!

What posessed someone to try this for the first time centuries ago, and how many other odd things were tried before settling on this particular choice, I can't really say. (Actually, I CAN say.  The swim bladder was used to store and carry beer, and in using it, they noticed it made the beer clearer.)  While I apperciate the "use what you have" mentality of the day, I have to say that these early Growler pioneers must have REALLY needed to store beer.  I'll stick with glass jugs, thank you.

The use of this "isinglass" is very common in modern brewing circles - lots of big brewers use the stuff (like a certain MASSIVE producer of Stout). Personally, I find the idea of fish bits in my beer a bit unappealing.  You could argue that they are super-small or that they are filtered out (even though we don't filter any of our beer here).  But for me, that's not the point.  If it's made with any amount of fish, it's not vegetarian.

Granted, there's definitely a lot of the brewer's blood, sweat, and tears going into brewing this beer and getting it to your glass, but I can guarantee that I'm speaking figuratively, and all of that stuff is kept STRICTLY out of the tanks. Now, if you feel the need to cry in your beer (Pirates fans?), that's completely up to you.

One more thing: Some people tell me that our beer is 100% VEGAN, and I've heard others say that it's an animal product since it contains some yeast. Well, yeast is technically a fungus, so I'm pretty comfortable with the notion that our beers are completely VEGAN.

*Update 2011: A couple of years ago, this country's very first community run Apiary went in across the street from our humble spot here on Susquehanna St.  ("Apiary" as in Bee Hives, not apes.) It turns out that a few of our regular customers were looking for a spot to set this all up and spied their current site during one of their many Growler Hours visits.  Most recently, we've used this ultra-local honey in the production of our beer.  So because honey is most clearly an animal product, that means that these particular beers are NOT VEGAN.  In these cases, you have my promise that we will ALWAYS use the word "honey" in the beer's name to let the vegans among us know what's going on.

INGREDIENT INFO:

Most of us are pretty interested in what's in the food we eat, so I thought it might be nice to know a few things about what's in the beer we make.

There's nothing artifical in any of the beers we brew, nor are there any added preservatives - aside from all of the hops (which are a natural preservative), and of course the alcohol that the yeast makes during fermentation.  That's also a naturally occurring preservative.  All of the beers are unfiltered, which means that they contain LIVE YEAST, rich in B vitamins, found to be beneficial in the prevention of hangovers...the problem and the solution in the SAME GLASS!

All the flavors in East End Beers come from Malted Barley, Wheat (sometimes), Oats (less sometimes), Rye (even less sometimes), Hops, free-range Pittsburgh City Water, and the case of certain beers, special ingredients. I've put the specifics of all the ingredients for each beer into the beer description pages for you to enjoy here.

Cheers - Scott