All About Beer Demo Virtual test : Page 71
the Great Lakes region new rules are caus-ing some water utilities to boost fees by 25 percent, which will have a dramatic impact on bothcraft brewers and cheesemakers. In March, the first Great Lakes Water Conserva-tion Workshop was held in Rochester,NY, and a second conference is set for October in Wisconsin. The program focuseson water conservation, water auditing, wastewater treatment and recycling in brewhouses. At Standing Stone Brewing environmen-tally friendly beer production includes using 95 percent organic ingredients and trading spent grain with a local farmer for eggs and vegetables that are used in the brewpub’s kitchen. Pre-consumer foodwaste as well as yeast trub are composted. The company even started a commuter bicycle program for employees and tapped into a state grant to purchase bikes for staff that promised to use them to ride to and from work on a regular basis. Chase estimates that the company has 15 to 20 bikes in its fleet and has installed a bike rack at the brewery. Organic beer is an increasingly visible Brewers are increasingly looking at ways to cut energy use, brew using alternative fuels, reduce water consumption, increase recycling rates, reduce packaging and use organic ingredients. TASTING NOTES BROOKLYN LOCAL 2 This Belgian-style ale has a number of layers thanks to several varieties of malts and hops, along with honey, sugar and citrus peel. Full and tasty, with a smoothness that hides the 9 percent alcohol by volume. Kind of like a liquid Christmas fruitcake. GREEN LAKES ORGANIC ALE This is the first organic brew from Deschutes Brewing in Oregon. Nice golden color and firm fluffy head. Crisp aroma and nice level of hops makes this a refreshing beer for the end of a hot day. NEW BELGIUM MOTHERSHIP WIT This organic wheat beer pours a light yellow cloudy color with a zesty citrus flavor bed. Slight hint of spice, but mainly crisp, clean and refreshing. PINKUS MÜLLER ORGANIC HEFE-WEIZEN This unfiltered brew pours a light hazy golden color with a persistent fluffy head. Inviting citrus aroma that leads to a flavor profile that has lemon, spice and a bit of banana in the finish. Light and refreshing. SAMUEL SMITH ORGANIC LAGER The beer pours a clear golden color with a slightly fruity aroma. There is a good level of carbonation in the beer. The flavor is nicely balanced. Sweet and slightly toasted malts emerge early and the hops arrive to carry the flavor profile to the finish. Good crisp finish. SIERRA NEVADA 2010 GLISSADE GOLDEN BOCK A 6.4 percent alcohol by volume beer that uses a combination of German Magnum, Perle and Spalter hops and Slovenian Aurora and Styrian hops, along with two-row Pale, Europils, Munich and Crystal malts. The beer is a crystal clear golden color with a firm white head. The flavor has a nice malty backbone with a good level of hops for balance. Very smooth and drinkable. For more reviews go to www.allaboutbeer.com. part of the green beer movement.Wolaver’s in Vermont, Pisgah Brewing in NorthCaro-lina, Bison Brewing and Butte Creek Brew-ing in California, Peak Organic in Maine and Fish Tale Ales in Washington are among the better-known certified domestic organic brewers. Big brewers have also been jumping into the organic category; Anheuser-Busch InBev markets Stone Mill Organic Pale Ale. On the import side, Samuel Smith from England, Brasserie Dupont from Belgium and Pinkus-Müller from Germany are in good distribution in the U.S. There is even a beer festival devoted to the segment. The sixth annual North American Organic Brewers Festival was slated for the end of June in Portland, OR. “We want the Fish Tale Ale brand to be synonymous with organic beer,” says Tony Powell of Fish Brewing in Olympia, WA, noting the brewery has to comply with strict rules about everything from ingredient sourcing to how it cleans its equipment to make certified organic ales. “It takes a bit of education to tell con-sumers what is organic,”Powell says. “Some people are happy we are doing this. Others think they can ‘taste’ the organic in their beer.” You will likely not be able to taste it, but Your Next Beer might just be green. Rick Lyke is a beer writer based in Charlotte, NC. He writes the Lyke2Drink blog. VOL. 31, NO.4 SEPTEMBER 2010 ALL ABOUT BEER 71 KINSLEY DEY
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