Three Major Hashgachos Announce Policy Change, Require All Beers To be Certified Kosher
In a letter to their Mashgichim and clients, the OU – joined by the OK and Star-K – announced a change to their policy regarding beers, now requiring even basic beers to be certified kosher.
Dear OU Food Service Proprietors and Mashgichim,
We are writing to inform you about an upcoming policy change regarding acceptability of beer. Historically, unflavored beers were generally assumed to be Kosher due to their simple ingredients (water, hops, barley, yeast). However, the rise of craft brewing and new production methods has led to a proliferation of flavored beers, diverse additives, and shared equipment that can compromise the Kosher status of even seemingly straightforward brews. After much research as well as consultation with other leading Kashrus agencies including the Star-k and OK, it has been collectively determined that these developments necessitate a more stringent approach to ensure our strict Kosher standards will consistently be met.
As such, beginning January 1, 2026 all beer served in OU establishments or at certified functions or events will only be allowed with reliable kosher certification. We are attaching a partial list of current Kosher certified breweries, which contains almost 1000 beers that are already kosher certified. Note that many national brand beers already have kosher oversight and will therefore remain acceptable even without a symbol on the label. All craft brews would be required to have a kosher symbol or letter indicating Kashrus.
We would encourage and reinforce that you contact us in advance of any event being planned to review the beer (and all alcohol) selections to ensure they will be compliant with this updated policy. As this does reflect a significant change in policy, we are committed to working with you to ensure as smooth of a transition as possible. Please feel free to reach to myself or your Kashrus Administrator with any questions or concerns.
We are joined with the OK and Star-K , along with a number of local supervisions that will be joining us in adopting this policy.
Thank you in advance for your partnership with OU Kosher and your commitment to ensuring the highest standards of Kosher.
Sincerely,
Rabbi Yermia Indich Rabbi Dov Schreier Rabbi Lenny Steinberg
Rabbinic Coordinators OU Kosher – Food Services
CC: Rabbi Moshe Elefant, Rabbi Dovid Jenkins
Yeshaya
Why is it okay to drink potentially non-kosher beer until January 1st? It’s either kosher or not, and if it isn’t get rid of it. Sounds like a mutual business decision between the big three kashrus agencies, rather than a kashrus decision. The kashrus industry is becoming more of an oligopoly/mafia every year and it’s a real shame.
Rabbi Eli G.
If it’s not kosher, it should be stopped immediately not January 1. I should be stopped tomorrow. It just doesn’t make sense this whole deal. it’s a big responsibility for the ones who were giving cashews to make a statement like that. waiting for an answer.