Organic Beer
Thursday August 31, 2006
Organic brewing is an idea that’s been around for a while. But as a trend it’s been building lately. Recently Anheuser-Busch introduced some organic brews in the marketplace. A-B may or may not be the king of beers but they are certainly on top when it comes to marketing. So if they see an audience for a particular product out there it’s certainly noteworthy.
I’ve had a few organic brews but not many. I really didn’t notice a lot of difference in the quality or flavor. But then one shouldn’t. Beer is essentially a processed food. The processing – mash, fermentation, carbonation and aging - might be natural, or at least originally based on natural processes. But from the perspective of the ingredients it’s heavily processed. Brewers begin with grains then squeeze all of the sugars and proteins out of them that they can and pitch the leftovers. Then they add yeast and further process the stuff, again getting rid of the leavings. And so on. So, organic beer shouldn’t be confused with such things as whole wheat bread or brown rice. A bottle of beer is and will always be a more processed product than even a loaf of white bread.
Organic refers to the methods used by those that produce the ingredients. The barley isn’t treated with growth hormones and the hops aren’t sprayed with pesticides. Drinking organic beer is really an “earth citizen” sort of choice. They taste the same as regular beer because they have been handled in the same way after leaving the organic farm.
As for homebrewing, I have no idea if organic products are available to homebrewers. Anyone out there know? Leave a comment if you do.
I’ve had a few organic brews but not many. I really didn’t notice a lot of difference in the quality or flavor. But then one shouldn’t. Beer is essentially a processed food. The processing – mash, fermentation, carbonation and aging - might be natural, or at least originally based on natural processes. But from the perspective of the ingredients it’s heavily processed. Brewers begin with grains then squeeze all of the sugars and proteins out of them that they can and pitch the leftovers. Then they add yeast and further process the stuff, again getting rid of the leavings. And so on. So, organic beer shouldn’t be confused with such things as whole wheat bread or brown rice. A bottle of beer is and will always be a more processed product than even a loaf of white bread.
Organic refers to the methods used by those that produce the ingredients. The barley isn’t treated with growth hormones and the hops aren’t sprayed with pesticides. Drinking organic beer is really an “earth citizen” sort of choice. They taste the same as regular beer because they have been handled in the same way after leaving the organic farm.
As for homebrewing, I have no idea if organic products are available to homebrewers. Anyone out there know? Leave a comment if you do.
Comments
I brew at home with organic ingredients from 7-Bridges Cooperative (breworganic.com). You can get everything you need for organic homebrew, from beginner’s extract kits to bulk malts, organic hops, and even some adjuncts (flavors, etc.).
You can order some organic ingredients from other homebrew suppliers like northernbrewer.com, but they don’t provide the selection available at 7-Bridges.