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Everyone and everything is going organic. If you visit any supermarket in the country, you’ll see different sections labeled “organic”. You’ll also notice that the food in these areas of the store is slightly more expensive than its non-organic counterparts. The reason for this is the fact that USDA regulations require that for a product to be labeled “organic”, it must contains 95-100% organic ingredients. This means that when growing a fruit or vegetable or raising livestock, farmers can’t use chemical fertilizers, genetically modified organisms (GMO), anti-biotics and various other synthetic products.
People are crazy for organic products. It only took us decades of consuming chemicals and preservatives to realize that we might actually be hurting our bodies instead of helping. Who really knows what all these additives and preservatives or going to do to us in the long run. It’s kind of scary that you can lift up a car seat and find a completely preserved French fry from three years ago when you clean out your car.
On top of chemicals being detrimental to our overall health, they are also hurting the environment, hurting animals and potentially adding to global warming (or climate change, for those of you who are more scientifically-inclined).
So, if you are striving to buy more organic ingredients, you should probably start with the most important purchase: beer. Luckily for you, a lot of breweries either make all organic beer or sell a few organic varieties. And, surprisingly, they are pretty darn good.
Here are a few of the most refreshing, delicious organic beers available:
Fuel Café Coffee Stout (Lakefront Brewery)
This 6.4% stout is a combination of famous Milwaukee organic coffee from Fuel Café and organic roasted malts. The roasted, malt flavor is followed by crisp hops and a kick off coffee flavor to make you wonder why all beers aren’t organic. This stout is perfectly paired with rich, indulgent meat dishes and chocolate-driven desserts.
Hop Harvest Oktoberfest (Peak Organic)
This 4.9% marzen style beer is so easy drinking that you won’t feel bad about imbibing it in a giant mug like they do at the real Oktoberfest. The amber colored beer carries subtle pine and citrus flavors along with rich malts. It pairs well with fall in general. Grab a bottle, put on a sweatshirt and sit out on your back porch while you still can.
Organic Porter (Eel River Brewing Company)
This 5.8% Brown Porter pours chocolate brown and is full of roasted malt flavor. It’s made with five organic malts working together to create an amazing, rich beer. It’s smooth with hints of chocolate, caramel and vanilla. It pairs well with barbeque ribs, cheddar cheese and chocolate.
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Wolaver’s IPA (Wolaver’s Fine Organic Ales)
This 6.5% India Pale Ale is chocked full of hoppy goodness. It contains Magnum, Fuggles and Golding Hops as well as 2-row and Munich and Caramel malts. This gives this beer a great hop flavor along with a rich, sweet malt finish. It’s a perfect combination of summer and fall beers and is the perfect beer to bridge the gap between the two seasons.
Pure Brewed Organic Lager (Samuel Smith’s)
This 5% Lager is not organic, it’s also certified vegan. It was brewed using only organic malted barley, organic hops and bottom-fermented yeast. It’s hoppy, sweet and refreshing and perfect for a crisp fall day.
Organic Porter (Butte Creek Brewing)
This 6% beer is brewed using organic malts as well as organic Cascade, New Zealand Pacific Gem and Wakatu hops to create the classic, malt-fueled porter that dark beer drinkers know and love. The beer is propelled by hints of chocolate, caramel and coffee and ends with a crisp hop finish that will make you wonder why you ever bought beer that wasn’t organic.
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Hop Cuvee (Bison Brewing Company)
This 5.5% West Coast Ale that is guaranteed to please every time you drink it. The hop recipe might change subtly every season, but that just means that the drinker gets a whole new beer to fall in love with every year. It’s brewed with the freshest and most flavorful hops of the season for a truly exciting, unique taste experience.
Pinkus Münster Alt (Pinkus Organic)
German brewery Pinkus makes this 5.1% organic Munster Alt. Translated into English, “alt” means “original” or “old”. It’s made from the simplest of ingredients, including: water, organic wheat malt, organic barley malt, organic hops and yeast. This crisp, floral, fruity beer pours a light yellow and finishes with a slight hop bite. This beer won a Gold Medal at the 2014 World Beer Championships and pairs perfectly with pizza, pasta and other Italian dishes.
Demolition IPA (Elliot Bay Brewing Company)
Elliot Bay Brewing Company’s version of the Imperial Pale Ale is a potent 7.2% ABV. It’s their way of giving the regular India Pale Ale a turbo boost by adding more hops and heightening the alcohol content. It’s made from organic pilsner, organic pale, organic wheat, organic roast, organic black and organic caramel blend malts as well as Northern Brewer, Chinook, Magnum, Simcoe, Amarillo and Cascade hops. This beer might be organic, but it definitely deserves your respect and should be enjoyed in moderation unless you want your evening to end in the demolition of your ability to talk in complete sentences. This beer won the Bronze Medal at the 2003 Great American Beer Festival in the American Strong Ale Category.
Fish Tale Amber Ale (Fish Brewing)
Fish Brewing might have an unfortunate name because of the connotations it brings up, but they really know how to brew. Their 5% Fish Tale Amber Ale is made from organic pale, Munich and crystal malts as well as organic Hallertauer hops giving it a great combination of hops and malt. It won a Silver Medal at the 2004 Brewing Industry International Awards in London.
