Vegan friendly: From next year Guinness is to stop using fish bladders in its brewing filters following years of campaigning by Irish stout-loving vegans

Its iconic recipe has remained the same for 256 years but Guinness is hoping it can live up to its own slogan that good things come to those who wait after announcing it is to become vegan friendly.

From next year the company is to stop using fish bladders in its brewing filters following years of campaigning by Irish stout-loving vegans.

They have long petitioned the St James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin to stop using isinglass, which is a by-product of the fishing industry, to remove extra yeast from the stout and help it settle faster.

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

The spokesman told The Times: 'While isinglass is a very effective means of clarification and has been used for many years, we expect to stop using it as the new filtration asset is introduced.'

Isinglass has been used since the 19th century and while large quantities of the agent are filtered out during the brewing process, there are still traces of fish bladders in the finished product.

The spokesman added: 'We are conscious that its use may represent a barrier to consumption of our products to some.

'As part of our ongoing efforts to further improve the way we make our products, we are seeking alternatives to isinglass.'

The news follows a longstanding campaign and several online petitions from vegans and strict vegetarians, with many highlighting the fact Guinness and other breweries are not required to state the use of isinglass on the bottle.

Twelve years ago a plan to force beer makers to highlight the use of isinglass on bottles and cans was scrapped by the European parliament.

Breweries lobbied for its exemption from labelling on the basis that it had traditionally been used in the brewing process with no recorded side effects.

The product was first introduced to Guinness in the 1800s, helping to save the company £6,000 a year by recovering beer at the bottom of their vats.

Victory: Vegans have long petitioned the St James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin (pictured) to stop using isinglass, which is a by-product of the fishing industry, to remove extra yeast from the stout and help it settle faster

It is rarely used in modern brewing as synthetic gelatins do the same job of removing excess yeast from the stout.

However, some real ale cask beers use isinglass to refine the final brew.

Guinness is understood to be looking at two filtration methods which would not require isinglass.

It comes nine months after the company wrote to Barnivore, an online guide to vegan beer and wine, suggesting that no alternative could be found to filter the famous black stuff.