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Veganism made easy with beer

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Giant metal tanks where beer is placed after fermentation for the beer to mature and clarify at Dogwood Brewing in South Vancouver, B.C. p4L4K KLA/RE PHOTO

By PALAK KLAIRE

or a city like Vancouver,
a vegan alternative is
always in demand. That
holds true for beer, too.

Dogwood Brewing, is a South
Vancouver brewery that focuses
on producing not only organic
but vegan brews, too.

The brewery said it ensures
its beer is vegan by using special
vegan fining agents that are used
to help clarify the beer. Typically,

breweries use isinglass, a type of

gelatin derived from fish bladder
as a fining agent to clarify regular
beer, according to advanced cicerone
Kevin Emms,

“It sounds strange, but [it]
works very well. The British have
been using it to make their craft beers
for many years,” Emms said.

Using vegan fining agents
means there are no preservatives,
according to Dogwood.

The company sources organic
ingredients locally and makes
maintaining the quality of those
ingredients a priority.

Claire Wilson, brewmaster at
Dogwood, explained that due

to the significant organic agriculture

“People who drink
vegan and organic
beer have much less
allergies.”

— CLAIRE WILSON, MASTER BREWER AT
DOGWOOD BREWING

industry in B.C., sourcing organic
ingredients isn't too much ofa hassle.

Wilson, who said Dogwood
uses unpasteurized, raw organic
honey in their beers, claimed their
brews are a healthier alternative
to regular beer.

Emms said brewing vegan
beer begins with hop and water.
‘They are the two core ingredients in
the production of vegan beer.

Hop is a flower commonly used
to give beer its bitterness and
to add aroma. Emms explained that
hop helps with the consistency
of vegan beer and the quality of the

plant is crucial when determining the

product’s flavour. It also acts as
a preservative, extending the life
of vegan brews.

Besides the obvious health
benefits of choosing a vegan or certi-
fied organic alternative, Wilson said
a vegan choice can benefit those
with allergies as well.

“People who have allergies
due to alcohol is often due to sulfites
and preservatives [in] normal [beer].
Wilson said people who drink vegan
and certified organic beer have a
better experience. "People have
much less allergies."

Never too late to shake

A new experience
thats challenging
and exciting

By LINA CHUNG

o improve their mental and

physical health, seniors say

belly dancing might just
be the answer.

Kerrisdale Community Centre
offers belly dancing classes for people
55 years of age and above. Seven
women currently attend the class
taught by instructor Rahma Haddad.

Participants who attend the
class wear colourful scarves around
their hips as part of their dance attire.
The scarves move with the students’
as the class dances to Middle East-
ern music.

Student Sophie Crow said belly
dancing isn’t as easy as it looks.

“I just wanted to give it a go.
It looks like fun, but it’s work.
I wasn't sore after the second class.”

According to Trevor O'Malley,
a physiotherapist at South Vancou-
ver Physiotherapy Clinic, seniors

belly dancing is not an issue as
long as the activity is done in moder-
ation.

“As long as it’s taken in a grad-
ual manner [and] you listen to
your body,” O’Malley said.

Haddad, the instructor, has been
belly dancing for 45 years and said
it’s a great exercise to keep bodies
limber.

“T also think maybe there’s a
bit of fantasy attached to belly
dancing. There’s a gracefulness and
sensuality to it and they want to tap
into that part of their being which
gets kind of beaten out of us over
the years,” Haddad said.

During class, Haddad leads the
women through a set of upper-body
warm up exercises.

“Imagine you have a pencil stuck
out of your chest,” she said. “Draw
a circle with the pencil.”

Crow said she encourages other
seniors to experience something
different.

“Get out and try something
new. Go at your own pace and dont
push yourself because we're getting
older and things don’t work as well
as they used to,” she said. “Challenge

yourself to a certain degree.”

"Belly dance" is the westernized
term derived from a traditional
Middle Eastern dance.

Belly dancing originates from
Egypt, starting with a group of
traveling dancers know as the
ghawazee.

Belly dancing grew in popularity in
the United States from the 1960s
to 1970s, time period where
women began to have more rights
and freedoms.

The dance crosses many cultural
boundaries, starting in the Middle
East then making its way to Africa
before evolving in the West.

SOURCE: DANCE.LOVETOKNOW.COM

Student Sophie Crow attends the belly dancing class offered at Kerrisdale

Community Centre, South Vancouver, B.C. i iv4 cHuUNG PHOTO