To be sure! They cannae do that to me Guinness!

I have to confess, I very occasionally do enjoy a wee Guinness. A pot of the old “steak in a glass” certainly doesn’t reinforce a soul on St Patrick’s Day, or after a long walk in the countryside.

So I’m quite shocked to learn that Guinness will be changing the recipe of the beer that’s remained the same for 256 years.

And you’ll never guess why – it’s to make the beverage vegan.

Now, I don’t know which is more concerning, the fact that Guinness has been until now made with fish bladders, or the fact that from next year it won’t.

The bladders are used as filters to remove extra yeast and allow the beer to settle at that specific pace. But a campaign by Irish vegans has convinced the St James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin to seek an alternative.

Isinglass, which is what the fishy extra is known as, has been used since the 19th century, and traces of the fish product are left in the beer.

A spokesman for Guinness said the company would begin using a new vegan-friendly filtration plant when it is built sometime in 2016.

Do you enjoy a glass of Irish stout or does someone you know? Were you aware of its fishy secret ingredient? Do you think Guinness made the right choice changing its recipe?