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The next time you reach for a pint of your favorite beer, consider what’s in the glass. A fine concoction of yeast, malt, water and hops, for sure — but a growing number of beer lovers are wondering if anything else might lurk in their luscious libations.
Beer drinkers are not alone. Organics is one of the fastest growing trends among food and beverages in the U.S., expanding rapidly as new products and standards evolve.
Why Organic?
"More consumers are anxious about the quality of their food items," says Matthias Neidhart, of B. United International, which imports Schneider Edel Weisse, an organic wheat beer from Germany — and one of the first imports to be certified as such in the U. S.
Neidhart says that when the U.S. standardized labeling for organic (sometimes nicknamed "green") products about two years ago, it opened the door for breweries to pursue organic certification. The new standards, governed by the USDA National Organic Program (NOP), detail specific criteria that products must meet before claims of organic content can be listed on their labels.
"Before the new labeling came out, pretty much anyone could put ‘organic’ on the label," said Tobias Day, Western Regional Sales Manager for Wolaver’s Certified Organic Ales, brewed at Otter Creek Brewing Co., in Middlebury, VT. Wolaver’s is known as one of the groundbreakers in organic beer in the U.S.; its organic ales are available across the country.
"We started pushing for the certified organic label," Day says. "We had five or six competitors that had organic claims on their labels, and that lessened our validity."
Day said from the get-go, Wolaver’s wanted to go organic for a number of reasons.
"We wanted to support organic farming from the beginning and help that grow and be healthier for the consumers — and the farmers," Day says. "Organic is important for a number of reasons. It helps to protect water quality, reduces health risks to consumers and farmers and promotes biodiversity. Conventional farming methods are depleting soils, and using pesticides kills so many organisms that you can’t replace even with fertilizers."
That belief prevails among breweries that have pursued organic certification.
"My family shares a commitment to the environment and supporting sustainable farming, the health of the planet and health of the people drinking our product," says Bret Cooperrider, brewmaster and general manager of Ukiah Brewing Co., in Ukiah, CA, whose brewpub was the first in the country to earn organic certification. His mother, Els Cooperrider, was one of the founders of a proposal that made Mendocino County, CA, the first in the country to ban growing genetically altered crops and animals.
In other words, the Cooperriders are serious. "We want to make sure we don’t serve pesticide residue to our customers," Cooperrider says. "The health of the people producing the raw material — malt and hop crops, also is important to us. Hops, especially."
Getting Certified
For breweries wanting to have their products certified organic, getting there might not be half the fun.
"It’s a commitment," said Craig Hartinger, marketing manager for Merchant du Vin, which imports five organic beers — Germany’s Pinkus line and two from Samuel Smith’s in England. "Both breweries had to invest a lot of time, money and effort to earn the USDA organic certification."
Earning the organic stamp is basically a three-step process: A brewery must first find grain and hops suppliers that are certified organic, the brewing process must be certified, and lastly, the final product must be certified organic by a federally accredited agency.
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n the cases of Pinkus and Samuel Smith’s, Hartinger says both breweries had to find new agencies for U.S. certification, because the agencies they had been working with in Europe were not on the USDA’s approved list of agencies.
Once a beer has met all the criteria, it is allowed to advertise the organic certification — but what does that mean?
Different labeling restrictions are based on the percentage of organic products used in the beer: A "100 percent organic" label means every ingredient, except water, has been certified organic; an "organic" claim requires at least 95 percent certified organic ingredients; "made with organic ingredients" means at least 70 percent of the ingredients have been certified organic.
Supply And Demand
But finding those certified organic ingredients is proving to be one of the most limiting factors for brewers — both in resources and in cost.
"It’s so expensive," said Terry Hawbaker, head brewer for Bullfrog Brewing in Williamsport, PA. "Hops are a real killer. The last time I bought organic hops, they were about $7 a pound, as opposed to $2.50-$3 (for non-organic hops)."
Hopunion’s director of sales, Ralph Woodall, says the higher price for organic hops is mostly due to the number of fees that have to be paid for organic certification.
"The grower has to be certified, and we are certified as handlers," Woodall says. He adds that organic hops are still a minor part of Hopunion’s sales. "We’re providing organic hops as a service," he says.
Despite the costs, Hawbaker always likes to have at least one organic beer among his 14 or so taps. He tries to make his organic offerings a bit more exotic to entice people to try them for the flavors and not just because they’re organic.
"The base malt for my latest organic beer (Frog Free Range Organic Ginger Pale Ale) cost about as much as what I pay for imported specialty malt. It’s definitely more pricey to make, but it’s fun. I love it."
Others must love it too, because many organic brewers are finding it’s growing harder to get the ingredients they need.
"There’s enough demand now that we’re being told by suppliers they don’t have the products," Cooperrider said, adding that he hopes the growing demand will encourage more suppliers to go organic — which could drop prices down. But that could be a while.
"My best guess? Ten years down the road (organic ingredients) might reach regular prices," he said.
Brewmaster Christian Ettinger, of Laurelwood Pub & Brewery in Portland, OR, was instrumental in getting his brewery the first to be certified organic in the state. He says the ingredients might be more expensive, but they pay for themselves in the long run.
"It costs slightly more to make (organic beers), but it more than makes up for it in what the brewery gets in press, in word-of-mouth advertising and in the extra customers," Ettinger says.
A Matter of Taste
Ettinger’s Organic Free Range Red won gold and Organic Tree Hugger Porter got silver at the 2004 World Beer Cup.
"Those medals speak for the quality of organic ingredients," he says. "There’s really no downside to organic beer. There’s better yield, better flavor — fuller, maltier — and there’s peace of mind that you are enjoying something that’s good for you and the environment."
Day says that just like with fresh produce out of the garden, organic ingredients make beer taste better.
"There are more flavors and great taste — just like a homegrown tomato versus a commercially grown one," he says.
The analogy is no mistake. Like a harvest proudly tended by a gardener or local farmer, organic beers often represent a significant commitment of time, energy and money — from the malt producer or hop grower to the brewer or importer.
Lisa Morrison lives in Portland, Ore., also known as Beervana.
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