Show #18: An Organic Exbeerience
Prebeer Preamble: Beers made from ingredients free of chemical additives (pesticides, fertilizers, etc.) are increasingly popular among beer enthusiasts. With assistance from SoB co-drinking stalwart Eric, I try to figure out what’s going on here. Sure going “green” is good for your health, your conscience, and the environment, but is it good for the beer?
Beer #1: We begin our quest for understanding with an English beer, Samuel Smith’s Organically Produced Ale. It’s a drinkable style from a long-standing, even iconic, brewery, but does its organic nature add anything to the drinking experience?
Interbeer Interlude: Beer As Folk. “Roots Brewing Company.” Portland, Oregon, is home to this all-organic brewpub, situated at the heart of America’s premier beer city. I talk to head brewer Chip Holland about the challenges and rewards of being on the cutting edge of the organic beer phenomenon.
Beer #2: Here’s where the rubber really meets the road in our exploration of the organic beer phenomenon. Eric and I dive into North Coast Brewing Company’s Old Plowshare Stout, an organic brew from California. But first, we sample some Old No. 38 Stout, a non-organic beer in the same style from the same brewery. How does the “green” beer old up in this side-by-side comparison?
Beer Geek Moment: “Barley.” Organic or not, the backbone of beer is this cereal grain from the Middle Eeast. Botany, chemistry, and history all come together in this three-minute information blast, for your entertainment pleasure.
Postbeer Postscript: Eric and I ponder and score the beers of the day. Did our organic experience enhance our drinking enjoyment? Tune it and find out!
November 18th, 2006 at 7:44 am
Another fun show. Why is it so reassuring to have Eric back?
Say - during my taste along, when I sniffed the Old Plow Share, I think I finally got my first whiff of this “Band Aid” smell I’ve heard about on other beercasts. What might cause that and is there any special reason that this particular beer would have it?
November 18th, 2006 at 9:21 am
Hey SOBbro,
Eric’s da man, that’s all.
The band-aid smell comes from compounds known as “phenols�. The can be thrown off by yeast, or can be present because of inadequate rinsing of sanitizers on the brewing equipment. In any case, we’re talking off-flavors here. I didn’t notice any in our Plowshare…maybe you got a bad bottling run…
November 20th, 2006 at 3:49 pm
As my understanding goes, it’s the Hops that is the tough part to do organicly since they are pretty vulnerable to bugs. Considering the extra cost and that beer is healthy for you I don’t know I would go out of my way for them. Though for a homebrewer I could see an appeal.
I think the side by side is the most telling of the beers and a good angle on the organic vs regular beer.
Regarding the Phenolic BJCP study adds besides Charlie’s answers that it also could be due to oversparging or overcrushing of the grains.
http://www.bjcp.org/study.html#trouble
Great test for building beer knowledge I just want to know how scored already (we tested in August).
March 7th, 2007 at 7:53 am
[...] The Facts: ABV: 5.7 IBUs: mid 40’s values: $.12/oz. .46 oz/$ (a lot of these facts I snaked from Charlie the Beer guy’s Organic Episode on Speaking of Beer. Please check out his podcast. I think it’s the best beer podcast out there) [...]