Finding domestic organic [0] beers was a little more daunting than I thought. My particular neighborhood doesn't have a Whole Foods or Wild Oats so I have to rely on my two local natural foods delis. I put them in Lime local [0] (The Garden [0], Natural Garden [0]), for those of you thinking about vacationing in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
The Garden housed the Sam Smith beers I tried in my first blog [0]. And although I was hunting for some ButteCreek [1], Eel River [2], or even some Wolvaners [3] (the most widely distributed domestic organic beer in the States), I couldn't find it in my neighborhood. I had to settle for another German import—Pinkus Organic, which was available at the Natural Garden.
Even though organic products seem to be so mainstream these days, it's still hard to consistently find organic beers in corner stores or other small shops. Your best bet is always the bigger named natural markets. Whole Foods, Wild Oats, and your hipper local health grocery's will carry a big selection and keep you (and the author of this blog) drinking organic for awhile. Lime has created Lime Local [3] just for this purpose. Let's share our findings.
Name: Pinkus Organic Organic Hefe-Weizen & Ur Pils
The Background: Both beers come from Germany are ABV at 5.0% or slightly higher and are Vegan. You might be asking after seeing the vegan stamp again in one of my blogs, ‘shouldn't all these beers be Vegan, Hans?' Well, not necessarily. This article I found [4] let me know of a fish derivative used in the brewing process by our British pals brewing across the pond. (This makes most beers from Britain undrinkable for strict vegetarians. Yikes!)
The Pils was developed in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, while the Hefe is a Bavarian specialty. Both are brewed with organic malt and hops.
There is a yeast sediment at the bottom of both the bottles. This is due to the non-filtering. Never to let anything alcohol-related go to waste (the sediment is good stuff) I used the patent-pending "roll the bottle on the table to get it out" method. The sediment gives the beer a hazy look.
What they say:
Pinkus Pils: Pale golden in color; light to medium in body; dry and well-balanced; clean hop and malt character.
Pinkus Hefe: Very light in body and color. Crisp, dry, spritzy, and refreshing, filtered beer, with little of the Bavarian wheat fruit character.
What I say: The Hefe-Weizen was not my favorite. I have tried quite a few Hefes and I have my favorites (particularly Paulaner and Franziskaner... they have a very unique bold smell). This one didn't carry the same weight. Most of the Hefes I enjoy come from taps and, unfortunately, are probably loaded with preservatives. This one came from a bottle, was free of preservatives, made with organic wheat malt, and (full disclosure...) I didn't have a lemon to serve with it. It's a shame, but I don't think the lemon would have made up for the difference. The Pinkus Hefe was lacking a certain something. I need to check the "drink by" date next time—it may have been a bit old.
...Or maybe I just prefer the more processed taste accompanied by lots of lemon.
Now on to the Pils. This was another pretty solid pilsner. Very similar to the Samuel Smith Pilsner I reviewed in the first blog [4], but without the hoppy aftertaste. I did miss that slight bite. It was definitely cloudy and not as "clean" tasting as some pilsners, probably because of the sediments and maybe it being organic. It had some overtones of mild grain/malt taste. It's a very drinkable beer, very smooth.
So far the pilsners have both been winners. I doubt I would get the Hefe-Weizen again. Onward and gulp-ward. I will definitely get my hands on some good organic domestics for next week.