It’s not common knowledge, but not all beers out there are vegan. Some brands use finings in the brewing process that are derived from animals, making the final product not 100% free from animal byproducts and therefore unsuitable for vegans. But now, researchers are exploring how upcycled mushrooms can help create animal-free fining agents to make beer vegan-friendly, while also fighting food waste. 

[Startup Chinova] plans to deploy its proprietary white button fibre technology to be used as a fining alternative to commonly used animal-based agents in breweries, such as fish swim bladders or isinglass, gelatin, glycerin or casein. 

Other animal-based ingredients used to filter alcohol products include pepsin, which comes from the stomach enzymes of pigs, or chitin from crustacean shells or carmine, from insects. 

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According to Chinova, the use of its Chiber technology could come with additional advantages on top of vegan-friendly and using up food waste. 

The company’s early tests show that Chiber works around 8-times faster when it comes to settling yeast in the post-fermentation stage, and can even potentially add in “residual antimicrobial benefits” to make beer longer-lasting. 

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