Vegan dog food company wins award

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Benevo Vegan Pet Foods was presented with the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade this week, acknowledging its outstanding growth in exports over recent years.

As an independent, 100% veggie owned family business, Benevo has been creating innovative nutritionally complete animal-free pet food for cats and dogs since 2005, in addition to complimentary foods & treats.

The Queen’s Award is a business award granted to companies by the Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. Company Director, Darrell de Vries accepted the award from the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire who presented the Grant of Appointment signed by both Queen Elizabeth II and Theresa May along with a commemorative crystal bowl.

The Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire was also joined by the Mayor of Havant where Benevo is based, who both acknowledged the unique nature of the business and the impressive 50% increase in international sales, despite operating in a very niche market.

Darrell de Vries said, “The best thing about this award is that it’s won on performance, not opinion. It’s much more meaningful, as the performance is a reflection of the hard work put in by everyone here in our team”.

The ceremony held at Benevo’s headquarters followed on from a reception at Buckingham Palace earlier this month where Mr de Vries along with Benevo’s manager of exports Dominic Eadie met Prince Charles and the Duke of Kent.

Since the announcement, Benevo’s achievements have gained coverage all around the world and received new business interest from as far away as New Zealand.

Now accounting for the majority of their sales, Benevo’s award winning foods can now be found in over 30 countries worldwide, replacing millions of pets’ meals each year with more environmentally friendly and kinder options.

I’m not keen on all this talk of royalty and the Queen, but big congrats are due to this pioneering vegan company for bringing attention to pet food alternatives. Yay!

You can follow Benevo on Facebook and check out their website online here.

Vegan options at a London cider festival

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There is a cider festival this weekend in London and there is set to be a lot of vegan options!

After the success of last year’s festival, Ciderdog returns for its sixth year​ on Saturday July 21, 2018 between midday and 1am.

Entry is free and all festival ciders are served at £3.50 per pint ​on the day.

Held in the heart of London Bridge at The Miller pub’s outside bar, Ciderdog features a staggering 100+ British ciders & perries on tap, expertly picked from makers including SeaCider, Turners and Abrahalls. Every taste is catered for — from super sweet to dry, cloudy scrumpy, single varieties and blends. Expect award winners, special one-off collaborations​, and cider mixed with everything from passionfruit and blueberry, to chilli and
ginger.

All ciders on tap are suitable for vegans!

Ciders are supplied by independent producers from across the UK alongside a selection of ales. You can also try exclusive Ciderdog Festival cider cocktails​, or take advantage of The Miller fridges stocked with a vast selection of London brewed craft beers.

The food menu will be packed with delicious burgers and loaded chips​ including plenty of vegan options.

Enjoy ping pong and garden games while you soak up the sunshine and discover your new favourite ciders. The Solid Steel Band will be performing music all afternoon. Then expect a mix of party classics to take you into the night.

Click here to see the exact location of the festival thanks to Google Maps.

New vegan restaurant in London: BREAKING NEWS

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BREAKING NEWS

A brand new vegan restaurant is opening on Tuesday July 17, 2018 and you can get an incredible opening day special.

BUFFALO is London’s latest vegan eatery and is celebrating its opening at 63 Brick Lane with a soft launch offering of 50% off food orders on Tuesday 17th July (opening times 12-3pm and 6-9pm).

The signature offering from Head Chef Ludmilla Girardi (formerly of Gordon Ramsay & Ottolenghi) is the Classic Buffalo Burger – a tempeh, beetroot and red kidney patty with homemade buffalo sauce.

There’s also the 63 Burger made with a tofu and mushroom patty, served with wasabi mayo and kimchi. Other main courses include The Brick Lane Jackfruit Korma and Pasta Carbonara.

It’s not just gourmet savoury cuisine being served up in BUFFALO. Desserts include a homemade Mousse au Chocolat and vanilla ice cream. So special!

Check out the full menu online here and be sure to follow BUFFALO on Instagram.

You can see the exact location of the restaurant thanks to Google Maps.

Vegans raising funds for Mexico

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One of the most important parts of being a vegan activist is understanding that we shouldn’t limit our acts of compassion to simply caring for non-human animals.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that all we need to do in order to be fabulous is to stop eating animals, raise money for animals, and encourage other people to stop eating animals.

In reality, there is so much more we should be doing to challenge oppression.

If we want to fight oppression, we should also look to redress disadvantage amongst humans.

Yes. We should eat, drink and live like we give a shit. (shameless book plus)

In line with this way of thinking, we use our fabulous karaoke sessions at Vegan Beer Fest UK events to raise money for a charity in Mexico City called Isla Urbana. This charity builds sustainable water catchment systems for households, schools, communities, and businesses in Mexico.

Many, many people live without access to safe water but of course we all understand that clean water is a basic human right, so I feel it is crucial we support the work of Isla Urbana.

We asked the audience and performers at our charioke (charity + karaoke) session to donate whatever coins they had towards our Isla Urbana drive and I’m thrilled to say we raised £180 for the charity.

We will also be collecting at Vegan Beer Fest UK 2018  events in Coventry, Sheffield, and Glasgow. You can book tickets for those events online here.

If you are not able to get along to our events but would like to support the work of Isla Urbana, donate online here and follow the charity on Instagram.

 

London Vegan Beer Fest 2018 was a huge success

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Wow. What a day.

The day after a big event like London Vegan Beer fest is what I imagine the day after a wedding might feel like.

We work extremely hard for months and months to make London Vegan Beer Fest a reality. We want it to be a day to remember for our guests but it all seems to be over so quickly.

I popped over to Instagram this morning and collated some of the best pics posted by attendees yesterday.

There was beer. A lot of beer. There was an incredible line up of food. There was an amazing and raucous karaoke room. There was face painting.

Actually, this was more fun than a wedding!

Check out the photos below and be sure to buy tickets for our Coventry, Glasgow and Sheffield versions of this event online here.

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London Vegan Beer Fest sold out

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Just a super quick note to let you know that all advance tickets for the 6th annual London Vegan Beer Fest have sold out.

This is the third year in a row we have been sponsored by the incredible Follow Your Heart. Their support has mean so much when it comes to making these events happen.

At the London event on Saturday July 14, the company will be handing out samples of their incredible vegan products so get along early if you want some free cheese and other goodies.

We have kept a very limited number of £9 tickets back for selling on the gate. These tickets come with a retro 2017 London Vegan Beer Fest collectible pint cup to use on the day and take home forever.

If you have tickets and would like to see the food and beer line up, click here for food and here for beer.

See you at Hackney Downs Studios!

Click here for full beer fest details.

Be a vegan winner by rejecting Trump

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Hey. This piece of news makes me happy.

The gorgeous Blacksmith & Toffeemaker vegan pub in Islington is getting in the spirit of rejecting fascism by rewarding their customers who make the effort to protest Donald Trump’s UK visit.

As you might be able to see in the Instagram post above, you get 2-for-1 discount on all food and bottled beer at the vegan pub for the rest of July 2018 if you can prove to the staff you were involved in protesting Donald Trump and his racist, sexist, transphobic, and basically hate-filled existence.

This line from the pub’s announcement has me getting all teary:

Bigotry should not go unchallenged and we’d like to show our appreciation for anyone going out of their way to make a stand.

Come the fuck on, Blacksmith & Toffeemaker!

If you want to demonstrate against the U.S. President’s visit, you can find a list of all planned public protests online here.

You can follow The Blacksmith & Toffee on Instagram and see the pub’s exact location online here thanks to Google Maps.

LVBF food menus

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With the 6th annual London Vegan Beer Fest just days away, it is time to show you the incredible hot food menus from our food traders.

Click here to book your cheap online tickets or keep scrolling to see what is available to eat on Saturday July 14, 2018.

And don’t forget there will also be tasty sweet treats and more than 70 beers!

Beer list for London Vegan Beer Fest 2018

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Here it is.

This is an amazing line up of vegan beer and I can’t imagine how you are all going to choose.

Before we get started, a gentle reminder that online tickets are £5 and if we have any tickets remaining on the day they will be £9.

Click here to book and save money.

Now the beer.

INDOOR BEER HALL – run by Brass Castle Brewery, Malton, Yorkshire

  • BRASS CASTLE – Bad Kitty – Vanilla Porter – 5.5% ABV (keg & can) – a chewy chocolate-vanilla dream of a porter
  • BRASS CASTLE – Black Russian – Porter – 7.0% ABV (keg) – Baltic porter with added coffee beans
  • BRASS CASTLE – Disruptor – IPA – 7.4% ABV (keg) – New England IPA crammed with hops. Dangerously drinkable!
  • BRASS CASTLE – Eclipse – IPA – 5.7% ABV (keg) – Black IPA for those who want a dark, hoppy beer
  • BRASS CASTLE – Hazlenut Mild X – 10.00% ABV (keg) – Fulsome sweet nut-brown hazelnut mild, at traditional strength
  • BRASS CASTLE – Helles Lager – 4.4% ABV (keg) – refreshing malt-forward Munich-style Helles lager
  • BRASS CASTLE – Hoptical Illusion – Pale Ale – 4.3% ABV (keg & can) – certified gluten free hop forward pale ale
  • BRASS CASTLE – Life’s a Beach – 3.6% ABV (keg) – Pineapple & coconut wheat beer. It’s a piña colada – only it’s not!
  • BRASS CASTLE – Misfit – Pale Ale – 4.3% ABV (cask) – bursting with juicy citrus and classic pine hop notes
  • BRASS CASTLE – Ready, Grisette, Go – 4.0% ABV (keg) – Grisette-style beer. Azacca hop-fuelled refreshing mini-saison
  • BRASS CASTLE – Session – 3.6% ABV (cask) – Mini IPA. Fulsome, hoppy, but easy on the conscience
  • BRASS CASTLE – Sunshine IPA – 5.7% ABV (cans) – SIBA 2013 ‘Champion Beer for the North East of England’
  • BRASS CASTLE – Yorkshire Lavender – 4.0% ABV (cans) – oatmeal pale with Yorkshire lavender
  • BLACKJACK BREWERY – Dragons’ Tears – 5.2% ABV (keg) – Golden saison. Ella hops and Dragons’ Tears jasmine green tea
  • GIBBERISH – Murky Mersey – 6.2% ABV (keg) – Dank, juicy New England IPA from this Liverpool brewpub
  • MARBLE BREWERY – Lagonda IPA – 5.0% ABV (keg) – Contemporary classic IPA with citrus and floral hop character
  • SHINDIGGER – Summer – 4.8% ABV (keg) – Lager blended with watermelon. Perfect for a hot summer day!
  • TINY REBEL – AK47 – 4.7% ABV (keg) – Kvass style rye beer with strawberry, lemon & mint
  • TINY REBEL – Bucky – 4.8% ABV (keg) – Amarillo, Citra & Mosaic hopped American amber ale
  • WYLAM BREWERY – Hickey The Rake – 4.2% ABV (keg) – ultra pale with lime, lemon and pineapple notes

All Brass Castle beers are brewed gluten-free. All of their cans and the Hoptical Illusion keg beer are certified gluten-free

OUTDOOR BEER MARKET

BAD SEED BREWERY: award-winning, hand-crafted vegan brews from Malton, Yorkshire

  • Become The Legend – 3.9% ABV (keg) – Collaboration with Wild Weather Ales. Rhubarb & Hibiscus Grisette. Rich peach colour with huge Rhubarb sweetness mellowed with lemony character from the hibiscus. Dry Belgian yeast stops this beer being too sweet and makes for a fun flavour combination
  • Code Blue – 5.0% ABV (keg) – Blueberry Wit brewed in collaboration with the Rook and Gaskill to celebrate our 5th birthday. A huge hit of blueberries meets a soft wheat and oat base in this American style wit beer. A taste of summertime!
  • Funk Vol II – 6.2% ABV (keg) – The second generation of our blended barrel aged sour. Aged on wood with brettanomyces, pediococcus and lactobacillus. Then blended back to a complex rich and distinctive sour character
  • Murk Merchant – 5.8% ABV (keg) – Ultra hazy, ultra hoppy crushable IPA. Super soft bitterness with a pale malt and oat base and huge juiciness from Mosaic, Cascade, Chinook & Columbus. Similar to a NEIPA style but drier. A huge hit of US hops with big tropical fruit characteristics
  • Rule The Roost – 5.6% ABV (cask) – Espresso stout. We cold steep the beer on the delicious Tonto espresso blend from Roost Coffee in Malton, just down the road from the brewery. A bewitching blend of two rich, roasted flavours. Dark and complex
  • Session IPA – 4.0% ABV (cask) – Easy drinking abv, full on hop flavour. Bravo, Comet and Azacca hops combine to give flavours of citrus and tropical fruit with a grapefruit aroma
  • Short Stop – 3.0% ABV (cask) – Hoppy Table beer. All day abv, big hop character. Notes of grapefruit & citrus from Centennial, Columbus, Cascade & Comet hops. Soft malt & oat base makes for a big mouthfeel and perfectly delivers a juicy beer

CLARKSHAWS: microbrewery in Brixton, London doing modern takes on classic British beers

  • Gorgons Alive – 4.3% ABV (bottle) – golden bitter, summery, spicy and refreshing
  • Hell Yeah! Lager – 5.3% ABV (keg) – award winning flavourful craft lager with a sweet honeysuckle and elderflower taste
  • Hellhound British IPA – 5.5% ABV (keg) – strong and spicy with hints of citrus orange and caramel
  • Session IPA – 4.5% ABV (cask) – Mandarin and tropical fruits deliver a sweet taste with a lightly bitter finish. A classic US style IPA made with UK grown hops
  • Steam Beer – 3.9% ABV (keg) – Clean and crisp taste as light as lager but with a hoppy kick
  • Strange Brew – 4.3% ABV (bottle) – our award-winning pale ale with a hoppy floral flavour from UK cascade hops
  • Vegan Milk Stout – 5.0% ABV (cask) – properly milky, although without lactose! A vegan take on a favourite classic

HALF CHOP: classic brews from Stourbridge in the West Midlands. Check out their hop randall!

  • Grapefruit IPA – 4.2% ABV (keg) – we took our rock solid recipe for the Session IPA and had some fun adding the zest from fresh grapefruits to add to the already fruity flavours and aroma added by the hops. Seriously Summery
  • NEIPA (DDH) – 4.8% ABV (keg) – New England IPA brewed with a generous amount of late addition hops. Dry Hopped at two stages with Citra & Mosaic, a high percentage of oats in the grain bill to give a signature to give a full bodied and pillowy mouthfeel
  • Raspberry Wheat Beer – 5.5% ABV (keg)– American Wheat Beer, paired with the finest sweet British raspberries to give a tart bite to this crushable summer number
  • Session IPA – 4.2% ABV (keg)– Sessionable beer where Citra & Mosaic hops are allowed to shine in all their the glory using a grain bill & yeast that back up the hop combo, allowing you to appreciate the refreshing bitterness, zesty aroma & flavour of your favourite stone fruits

MONCADA: Ingredients are sourced within 100 miles from London for this Notting Hill brewery

  • Apricot Sour – 2.7% ABV (keg) – tart and fruity with apricot sweetness throughout to balance out the sour flavours. This is both a staff and customer favourite
  • NottingHill Pale – 4.5% ABV (keg) – American style pale ale with subtle hop bitterness & citrus notes. Wonderfully easy-drinking
  • Pink Grapefruit Sour – 2.7% ABV (keg) – strong flavours of pink grapefruits blended with mellow sourness make for a real thirst quenching beer
  • So Sorry Julio Saison – 4.8% ABV (keg) – classic take on the crowd-pleasing Belgian style. Hints of fruity, spicy and floral flavours are all present in this refreshing summer beer

MOOR BEER: Bristol-based all vegan brewery focussing on modern real ales

  • All Dayer – 3.5% ABV (keg) – highly drinkable session IPA
  • Claudia – 4.5% ABV (keg) –Hefeweizen, banana and lemon cloves with herbal and citrus hop character
  • Do It Together – 5.2% ABV (keg) – a luscious pale ale infused with mango tea from Canton Tea, brewed with the Basque rock legends Berri Txarrak
  • Hoppiness – 6.5% ABV (keg) – crossover IPA with rich caramel malts and a burst of tropically fresh and fruity hops
  • Nor’Hop – 4.1% ABV (keg) – ultra pale ale balancing rich British floor malt with citrusy Northern Hemisphere hops
  • Stout – 5.0% ABV (keg) – dark, smooth and rich with roasted barley and bitter chocolate

OFF THE WAGON/SIGNATURE BREW: A converted trailer serving brews from Leyton, East London

  • Backstage IPA – 5.6% ABV (keg) – an ambitious and noteworthy IPA with a myriad of tropical flavours, including passion fruit, tangerines and berries. Crisp with pine and citric notes
  • Banfi – 3.8% ABV (keg) – a powerful grapefruit sour brewed in collaboration with London pop alt band Banfi. Defined by its pleasant bitterness courtesy of the zest and juice of 281 grapefruits
  • Festival Saison – 4.8% ABV (keg) – a delicious dry hopped saison with big mosaic hop flavours. Brewed with wheat, oats and a spicy Belgian yeast character
  • Roadie – 4.3% ABV (keg) –refreshing road dog of a beer. This all-night IPA has notes of citrus including grapefruit & lime
  • Studio Pilsner – 4.0% ABV (keg) – the highest quality European noble hops are amplified by the simple clarity of water, yeast, malt and rye resulting in unmistakable floral hits and a pleasingly bitter finish
  • White Keys – 4.7% ABV (keg) – A classic Hefeweizen styled beer, flavoured with blackcurrants and lemon thyme. Pleasingly cloudy and brewed at a low temperature to develop sophisticated clove notes

THREE HILLS: Small batch nano brewery based in Northamptonshire

  • Black: Salted Caramel – 9.0% ABV (keg) – an imperial stout brewed with additions of treacle, demerara sugar and caramel flavor. Viscous, rich with a boozy hit and loads of stouty umami
  • Braybrooke Keller Lager – 4.8% ABV (keg) – brewed to the purity law using all German hops, malt and yeast; Braybrooke Keller lager is light amber in colour and refreshing with a rich malt body
  • Brut IPA – 7.5% ABV (keg) – a new style IPA hailing from San Francisco. It’s fermented dry with champagne yeast and dry hopped with Mosaic, El-dorado, cryo-citra, Vic Secret and Nelson sauvin. A refreshing change to the NEIPA style
  • In Pursuit V3 – 6.0% ABV (keg) – a New England IPA classic double dry hopped with Cryo Mosaic, Cryo Citra and Galaxy. Juicy, Hazy, hoppy with low bitterness
  • Pepperberry Saison – 5.5% ABV (keg) – a fruity and spicy Saison infused with Strawberries and Pink peppercorns. Dispensed through our randall full of fresh strawberries!
  • Session IPA – 4.8% ABV (keg) – dry hopped with Citra, Mosaic and El dorado, this sessionable India Pale Ale is packed full of citrus and tropical fruit aroma with a well balanced piney back bitterness
  • South Pacific Wheat – 5.5% ABV (330ml bottle) – a vibrant and refreshing Wheat beer using two hops hailing from the South Pacific region: Nelson Sauvin and Vic Secret
  • Tangential Thinking – 4.5% ABV (keg) – a Rauch Rye Pale Ale: subtle smoke meets spicy rye with a trio of piney hops (Chinook, Zyphos and Ekuanot)
  • Thai PA – 5.5% ABV (330ml bottle) – an aromatic and light Pale Ale infused with Lemongrass, Ginger, and Kaffir Lime
  • Trium Florum – 6.0% ABV (750ml bottle) – farmhouse saison infused with a blend of Hibiscus, Marigold & Elderflower. The appearance is bright pink and palette delicately floral, fruity and spicy

TWISTED BARREL ALES: Coventry-based brewery mixing modern and classic styles and methods

  • Detroit Sour City – 4.0% ABV (can) – this was a crowd favourite at least year’s beer fest! A dry hopped sour, lemon sherbet paired with mango Mosaic hop flavour
  • Doom of Valyria – 6.0% ABV (keg) – a sweet, smokey, spicy dark brown porter
  • I Am The Muffin – 5.5% ABV (can) – a Belgian Blonde ale, light body with floral hops and a dry finish
  • Kazan – 5.5% ABV (keg) – an incredibly juicy pale ale brewed with Citra, Mosaic and Amarillo hops
  • Naido – 5.0% ABV (keg) – New England style pale ale, plenty of oats and wheat for a thick, soft body combined with Mosaic, Azacca and Cascade hops
  • Raspberry Ripple Sour – 3.5% ABV (keg) – an ice cream sour, brewed with bags of oats, vanilla pods and raspberry puree
  • Sine Qua Non – 4.5% ABV (can) – citrus and pine hop flavours layered on a light biscuit base
  • The Great Went – 4.0% ABV (can) – a traditional German style wheat beer
  • Wrapped In Mosaic – 7.0% ABV (can) – a New England style IPA brewed solely with Mosaic hops, with a soft, juicy body and huge stone fruit and peach flavour and a sweet finish

Outside the karaoke room

BUMBLEBEE CIDER: made from British apples, paying homage to the bees doing all the hard work!

  • Hard Cider (original) – 4.5% ABV (500ml bottle) – medium-dry, lightly sparkling. Robust and complex tannic structure, rolling from sweet to dry with a sun-baked West Country aroma
  • Regatta Strawberry & Mint Cider – 4.0% ABV (500ml bottle) – medium Somerset cider twisted with strawberries & a hint of garden mint. Unmistakably cider – with a summer twist. Enjoy chilled, for a real treat, add ice and chopped fruit (available)
  • BumbleBee Dab21 – 5.5% ABV – still, cloudy, medium-dry. Made with 21% Dabinett for the perfect amount of zing!
  • BumbleBee Gribble – 4.8% ABV – Medium-dry easy drinking still somerset cider, inspired by long, lazy days in the Westcountry

What a list!

Click here to book tickets now.

Vegan dining in Tooting

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It has been a while since I have mentioned south London vegan restaurant Vegan Express, so I wanted to take some time today to share some of my favourite photos recently shared on their Instagram account.

I was reminded of this family-owned and operated eatery during a visit to The Just V Show last weekend.

Head chef Charles was cooking up a storm behind the Oumph!-sponsored kitchen counter and it made me curious to see what they have been serving up in their own restaurant.

Check out the photos below.

You can see the exact location of Vegan Express online here thanks to Google Maps.

You can also follow Vegan Express on Instagram.