Organic Beer

[edemuth]

I hadn't heard of organic beer until today.  Click here for the website of Fish Brewing Company, an award-winning organic brewery in Olympia, WA.

The site doesn't go into detail about why their brewing methods are organic, other than to say they use organic hops and such.  Has anyone tried organic beer?  Can you taste a difference?

[Shiva]

Samuel Smith makes 2 organic beers.  I've had the ale, it's very good.

Is it better than their pale ale?  No, but that's a tough act to follow.

Samuel Smith's Organic Beers

[AdamLawrence]

Organic beers have really taken off here in the UK in the last few years. The problem isn't lack of demand, but supply of raw materials - until very recently, there was only one grower of organic hops in the whole of Britain (close to where my in-laws live in Kent). So I think most of the organic beers I've come across have used European hops; and as the Germans etc grow different hop varieties, the beers are more European in style (St Peter's Organic Ale is one such).

If you can find it in the States, I like Caledonian Golden Promise very much.

Adam

[John Whiting]

St, Peter's Organic Ale is supurb. I don't know if it's better than it would be if it weren't organic -- and I don't particularly care.  

[beerguyjim]

Rules vary by country, but currently in the US, a product with 95% organic ingredients qualifies as organic. Since hops are a minor component compared to malt and water, a brewer can use all conventionally-grown hops and still be able to call the beer organic.

Most organic hops come from New Zealand, which doesn't have the diseases that causes hop growers to apply chemicals. But there are only a few NZ varieties AFAIK, so this severely limits the brewer.

Some organic beers in the US: Wolaver's (I believe brown, IPA, pale ale, and also a hard cider), Golden Promise (Scotland), Sam Smith (England), Pinkus (Germany), Butte Creek (Chico, CA), Foret (Belgium), Jade (France). There is also an organic brewpub recently opened, I believe in CA, the first of its kind. Whole Foods Market (full disclosure: this is where I work) has a couple of organic beers called Lamar Street.

[Steve Klc]

beerguyjim--are you aware how US "organic" labelling and certification standards differ from European standards--and whether England, Belgium and France, for instance, all hew to the same standard?

In the US, which agencies certify adherence to these standards--agencies paid for by the producers themselves? Or are claims in practice unenforced?

In your role at Whole Foods--what % of your customers seem to feel that "organic" matters, at least when it comes to beer? I've gotten Jade in the past from Whole Foods, but not seen Lamar Street just yet--do you mean to imply Lamar Street is a Whole Foods house brand, kind of like Allegro coffee?

Thank you for adding your expertise to our site Jim.

[beerguyjim]

I'm not an expert on organics, but I believe European standards might be more strict than in the US. E.g., they might not allow conventionally-grown ingredients at all.

There are private organic certification agencies in the US, but a federal law is in the works that will obviously make for uniform standards.

Lamar Street is a private Whole Foods brand made, I think, at two breweries: North Coast in CA and Goose Island in Chicago.

I don't think a great number of my beer customers are seeking organic brands, but some do.

[Steve Klc]

Thanks Jim--are you able to observe or sense any correlation with organic wine in your store or stores--either in depth or quality of selection or consumer interest?

I'm off to my local Whole Foods to check out Lamar Street--thanks for the tip and I hope you feel comfortable sticking around.

[beerguyjim]

I think there is more interest in organic wine, which relates (IMO) more to low sulfite content (which I think is generally true for organic wines, although I don't have data to support this) than organics specifically.

Back to organic laws and regs, I believe the US will implement federal organic regs in October, at which time there will be specific penalties for compromising organic standards.