About
The Fork & Carrot is designed to be an online resource for those interested in vegan beer and food.
It was created by Oliver Coningham, born out of many conversations about vegan beer.
After being vegetarian for just over 2 years the transition to veganism, like many, was a slow and gradual process. The first few months were easy with many dairy-free milk products available. Cheese, eggs and honey were then phased out with the intention of being vegan at home and relaxed about it outside. In practice this never works as once you learn about the suffering involved and impact of animal based products, you cannot consciously ignore it.
Vegan Beer
Beer was the one of the last non-vegan products to change due to the lack of information available about the use of isinglass (fish swim bladders) in beer production. Much like the use of gelatine in sweets, most people would not assume an animal product is used in the manufacturing process.
As this renders around 99% of the cask beer produced in the United Kingdom unsuitable for vegans an interest developed in craft beer which often relies upon a different method of dispense. Bottles, cans and kegs are often prefered over the traditional cask. Many of the beers are usually filtered or left unfined for improved flavour and mouthfeel, negating the need for isinglass.
Vegan Beer & Food Pairing
Soon to follow was the idea of pairing beer with food; something that has been done with wine for many years. However, beer offers several advantages over wine... Quite simply, there are a far greater range of flavours and aromas that hugely increase its versatility. From bitterness to roasted and caramelised characteristics for a start. Unfortunately much of the information available on beer and food pairing is not vegan friendly, heavily focused on meat and dairy based products.
The Inspiration
The original idea for The Fork & Carrot was to create a vegan pub. Inspired by vegetarian pub The Coach & Horses in Soho, London and Porter House in Toronto, Canada serving vegan food and ale. Sadly an unattainable dream - for the time being perhaps - these ideas translated themselves into this website.
A virtual pub showcasing the finest vegan beers and food.