MdV: Merchant du Vin beer e-newsletter – Wed. Aug  25, 2004:  Organic Beers

 

Ayinger Oktober Fest-Marzen, perennial gold-medal winner at the World Beer Championships, is appearing now at your favorite pub, restaurant, and store.  The beer is deep and rich, and the festival commemorates an 1810 Bavarian royal wedding.  More at:

http://www.merchantduvin.com/pages/1_about/Ayinger_Oktoberfest_Marzen.html

 

The Austin (TX) Statesman newspaper featured wheat beers on August 19 . . . and called Ayinger Brau-Weisse “. . . the showcase for the color, body, taste and aroma of Bavarian hefeweizen.”

 

That was indeed a bottle of Orval Trappist Ale you saw pictured in the Tulsa (OK) World on August 15.  It was being poured at the wildly successful Wild Brew, the sixth-annual festival benefiting The Nature Conservancy.

 

Batgirl drinks Samuel Smith Organic!  A writer from the Atlanta Constitution spotted  visiting star Alicia Silverstone purchasing this certified-organic beer this week, joining thousands of other happy Georgia residents: In July, beers over 6% abv became legal in this state, allowing many fine breweries from England, Germany, Belgium and the US to sell their wares there.

 

Oktoberfests are coming – one list is at:  http://www.germanfoods.org/consumer/oktoberfests.cfm

There are festivals coming up in New York, Seattle, Boston, Connecticut . . . It’s a great time for fine beer!  National events are online at:

http://www.merchantduvin.com/pages/1_about/news.html

 

For those of you who would like to view previous e-newsletters, we have put an archive at: 

http://www.merchantduvin.com/pages/1_about/enews_archive.html

 

 

Beer Chat from the Beer Court Jester: Organic Beers

 

September is Organic Harvest Month, and that may mean that your fine local store or restaurant will make it very easy for you to buy organic beers – just look for the big store display, or special feature on the menu board.

 

Organic food products have some of the most brisk sales increases in the US today – over 15% per year for each of the past seven years.  By now, organic beers are far more than a novelty.  They offer some wonderful flavors, and they may represent a significant commitment by the brewer or importer.  They are one more option that American beer connoisseurs have, in our wonderful time of Fine Beer.

 

To be labeled “organic,” a beer sold in the US be made from ingredients produced without chemical fertilizers or pesticides.  Moreover, the USDA requires than a USDA-accredited certifying body – such as the California Certified Organic Farmers, or ABCERT GmbH in Germany – inspects & approves the brewery.  The name of that certifying body must appear on the beer’s label as well.

 

Organic beers naturally line up with craft beer: most craft beers are made in smaller batches, at smaller breweries, with more “on hand” activity.  Organic beers use hops and malt from farms that tend to be smaller and sometimes very local; organic raw materials are far less likely to be commodity products: both brewer and farmer deal personally, often with great pride and understanding of each other’s commitment.

 

If you want to learn more about organic products in general, the Organic Trade Association is a great place to start:

www.ota.com

 

 

The Agricultural Marketing Service of the USDA also has information at:

www.ams.usda.gov/nop/indexIE.htm

 

Merchant du Vin, America’s Premier Specialty Beer Importer Since 1978

www.merchantduvin.com