MdV: Merchant
du Vin
beer e-newsletter – Thursday September 8, 2005:
Organic Beer
Ayinger
Oktober Fest-Marzen is here, and bringing raves and smiles all across the US;
and Samuel Smith’s Winter Welcome Ale 2005-2006 is bottled and on the way to
our shores!
Beer
festivals, dinners, and events are offering beer lovers all across
http://www.merchantduvin.com/pages/1_about/news.html
Beer
Chat from the
September is National Organic Harvest Month, and
interest in organic beer is higher than we have ever seen it.
So what is organic beer?
First a little background on agriculture, and on the
planet: Farming has been important ever
since humans thought of it – in fact, it’s
survival. As more efficient ways of
growing crops came along – fences, new techniques, irrigation, machinery, hybridizing,
fertilizing, pesticides – farmers frequently could see no downside. If it yielded more crops, how could there be
a downside?
But for most of human history, population has been
far less significant than it is now. The
population of the earth has grown exponentially: a billion in 1800 AD; 1.2
billion in 1850; 1.7 billion in 1900; 2.5 billion in 1950 . . . 6.1 billion in
2000. The capability we have of altering
our planet has changed dramatically, and the unplanned side-effects – chemicals
in the environment, changes to forests and watersheds, consumption of fossil
fuels, and alteration of the earth’s atmosphere – have just in recent decades
begun to actually become noticeable. Organic
agriculture offers another option to people, one that is at least a traditional
& artisanal way to grow things, and may have advantages for our
future.
“Organic” means “grown and prepared without the use
of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or other prohibited substances.” That means that organic beer must be made in
a facility that follows these procedures; it also means that the ingredients
that go in to organic beers must also have been produced following these
standards. To label a beer “organic” in
the
In the
The NOP/USDA has more than one level of organic
standards for beverage alcohol:
> “100 percent Organic,” must have the phrase
“Certified Organic by ____” and can use the USDA Organic logo. The label can also say “100 percent organic.”
>“Organic,” must have at least 95% organic
ingredients and the phrase “Certified Organic by _____.” This label can also use the USDA Organic
logo, and may say “X% organic ingredients.”
>“Made with Organic Ingredients,” can be used on
products that contain at least 70% organic ingredients, and must also list the
certifying agency. These products can’t
use the USDA Organic seal.
The phrase “Certified Organic by . . . “ is the key
phrase for organic beer sold in America, and because the NOP/USDA website
maintains an updated list of accredited certifying agencies consumers can confirm
for themselves & learn more: http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop/indexIE.htm
So this month, buy some Samuel Smith Organic Lager or
Organic Ale; or some Pinkus Pils, Hefeweizen, or Munster Alt. They are classic traditional products, tasty
& well-made, and you may just be doing a great thing for yourself and for
the planet.
Merchant