Hop Talk

This edition of The Session is sponsored by Chris O’Brien at Beer Activist.

Only beers verified by independent certifiers as meeting the legal organic standards are allowed to bear the USDA Certified Organic logo (the one up there to the left). Lots of brewers use Certified Organic malt and/or hops but have not had their facilities and processes certified. Legally and in practical fact these beers are not organic and are prohibited from being marketed as organic. But for this Session, it’s up to you to decide what to count as organic. Feel free to comment on beers that someone just tells you are organic, but be aware that just because someone has good intentions and seems trustworthy doesn’t mean that their beer is in fact organic.

Busy, busy, busy. Wife going to school at night. Lots of work. Children with obligations. Scurry, scurry, scurry. Quick! Get to beer store for something organic.

On the very first shelf I looked at were three six packs of Wolaver’s, one each of the Pale Ale, IPA, and Brown Ale. Well, it’s been a while since I had a brown ale. So I picked one up.

They say it is…

…mild and creamy, deep amber in color, with a smooth and luscious taste. A soft beer, slightly malty and well balanced with hints of cherry and black currant. Perfect with light foods.

Pours a nice, clear brown, nearly the same color as the bottle it was in. A modest, off-white head, which slowly descends into a thin layer of foam. Aroma is malty, nutty, and slightly spicy. It has a medium body, full malt character, and more of that spicy nuttiness. I am reminded of nothing so much as the roasted soy beans I had last night.

I’m all for being a little more “green” in my life, but this beer just didn’t do it for me. Oh, it’s okay, but probably not something I would choose on a regular basis. Maybe I just don’t like brown ales. (That would explain why I don’t have them very often.)

Update: Session #13 Roundup

Some of our other organic coverage:

• Ideal Bite: Drink organic beer
• Greener Beer Tip - Avoid Wild Hop Lager
• Wolaver’s Pale Ale
• Orlio Organic

Related posts

• Wolaver’s Pale Ale (0)
• Session #13: Organic beer (0)
• Session #13 reminder (0)
• Session #13 - Organic Beer, by Ron (0)
• Ideal Bite: Drink organic beer (1)

Wolaver’s, the Certified Organic brand from Otter Creek Brewing, has been brewing organic beers for ten years now. Organic beer has been getting a lot of attention lately, in no small part due to Anheuser-Busch getting into the game last year with their Wild Hop Lager and Stone Mill Pale Ale offerings. (Read Ron’s review of Wild Hop Lager.)

Organic beer was in the headlines recently as the USDA attempted to make rules regarding organic beer including this mind-boggler (inserted at the behest of A-B): Hops used in the beer could be non-organic and the beer could still be labeled “organic”, because hops aren’t a primary ingredient. Huh? In a product made with only four ingredients, I’d think they’d all be primary. There was a huge response from craft brewers and beer enthusiasts and the government has back-tracked a bit, but the issue still isn’t resolved.

But, that’s a topic for another discussion. Right now, I’d just like to try one of their beers. They say their Pale Ale…

…is a classic pale ale. Perfectly balanced; creamy and full bodied, with a rich malty flavor and a distinctive, crisp hoppy finish. Delicious with all foods, a great beer for all tastes.

It pours a nice medium amber color, with a decent-sized ivory-colored head. Nice gentle aroma, with a little bit of spice. Plenty of body, and I definitely get that hoppy finish. Pale Ale is probably my favorite style right now, and this one’s pretty good. That it’s organic and thus better for the planet makes it all the better. Worth a try.

Related posts

• Session #13: Wolaver’s Brown Ale (1)
• Session #13: Organic beer (0)
• Session #13 reminder (0)
• Session #13 - Organic Beer, by Ron (0)
• Ideal Bite: Drink organic beer (1)