I'm starting my adventures in organic [0] drinking knowing that it's hard to really say if the organic ingredients make a difference in how the beer tastes. The most you can really hope for from an organic brew is that it tastes as good as it's non-organic "higher end" counterparts.
This week I'm tackling an organic lager and an organic ale from Samuel Smith, an England-based beer company that doesn't have a website, but does get some internet exposure through domestic distributors [0]. In fact, almost all of the information I could scrape up on them came from distributor sites. I was also happy to find that I am not the only organic [0] beer guy around. There's some genuine interest in the blogosphere and in some of our green brethren, treehugger [0] and greenguide [0].
NAME: Samuel Smith Organic Lager & Organic Ale
THE BACKGROUND: The organic ingredients listed are organic Vienna malt and organic Hallertau Perle hops that are grown in Germany. The majority of the information I found about the lager was from the Muchant De vin site [1]. Both the Organic Lager and Ale are certified [2] by California State. You might wonder, ‘Why does a famous Yorkshire brewery get its certification from Cali?' Well, there is no simple answer I can find, it seems likely that the standards in Germany, where the hops are grown, are more or equally stringent to California's, and so California had no problem certifying the beer for American consumers. Whatever the case, organic certification is no simple matter [2].
During the research phase I also came across the company's all-vegan policy; the majority of their beers-including my organics-are "...free from animal involvement, whether for the purposes of ingredients or animal testing..." I must admit I let out a laugh at the thought of little drunken mice and bunnies. Anyway, it is good to know. If you're a vegan, this brew is for you.
WHAT THEY SAY: A full-bodied lager with lots of malt and hop character. A touch hoppier than many lagers yet perfectly balanced. (Lager).
A delicately flavored golden ale in which subtle fruity esters from the Samuel Smith yeast strain interact with a background of maltiness and fresh hops. (Ale).
WHAT I SAY: The 18.7ounces and odd shape are almost too much to take. The bottle alone made me feel so good about this whole process, my mouth watered.
First the lager. It's very straight-laced (not that I'm expecting anything too revolutionary from a lager). It might be a completely psychosomatic-like effect, but the beer tastes fresh—very crisp and clean, not like all those other beers that've been using non-organic stuff. It's not as hoppy as some of the other reviews I read stated, but there is definitely a hoppy finish. Just wait for it. All-in-all, a great tasting beer. As lager goes, it's very balanced and not too loaded, alcohol-wise (5%). I always find a good lager the perfect match for bar food.... Um. Organic bar food.
The ale is a whole other beast. "Delicately flavored" is not what I would have said. But it does hang out in the middle ground between bitter and smooth. Hopefully as this blog goes along my beer adjectives will grow, But for right now I'll just say it tastes good. I'm enjoying this while it's about 15 degrees outside with a wind chill of 0; it suits my mood right now perfectly.
I really enjoyed both of these thoroughly, and of course they are better than most run-of-the-mill store-bought lagers and ales. But going up against something in their respective price category, organic or not, they sit pretty toe-to-toe. And, like I said, that's the most that I can hope for when testing out organic beers. If the price isn't too steep (they both ran around $2.50-3.50 a bottle), and compares relatively to the price of non-organic counterparts, I'm converting.
The first of many domestic brews are coming up next week, stay tuned!