A question on Beer.SE asks why (according to the Kashrut Authority of Australia) beer from New Zealand must be presumed dairy. The question there asks what dairy could possibly be in beer.
My first thought was that, for whatever reason, the breweries in question are using dairy equipment and thus get a dairy hechsher. But the KAA web site lists the following in its key to designations:
D = Dairy
D-CY = Dairy/Chalav Yisrael
P = Pareve
P-DV = Pareve/Dairy Vessels
So if they have the P-DV designation (not all authorities distinguish this case but apparently they do), does this mean that it's always used when possible and New Zealand beer really does have dairy in it? Or are there cases where a kashrut supervisor might say "dairy" when it's instead an equipment issue?
My immediate question is about KAA, but if there are broader principles involved about how kashrut certifiers make these determinations, I'm interested in hearing htem.
Answer
I asked them and received the following reply from Rabbi Moshe D Gutnick (with permission to post here):
In NZ all ethanol is produced from whey and is Dairy. Therefore all ethanol based alcoholic beverages such as Vodka produced in NZ must be considered dairy. Beer was also included in that as a precaution. However it is now quite clear that none of the major breweries in NZ fortify their beers with ethanol and they are therefore Pareve .
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