Organic Beer Reviews

I've been meaning to get to some reviews of some organic beers I've had recently. A couple of them I had awhile ago, and a few have been recent.

Fish Tale India Pale Ale- This is a beer I had at a friend's house and was really impressed. I'd seen this beer in the stores before, but had never picked it up. Fish Brewing Company is a brewery in Olympia, Washington and from their website it looks like they have three organic beers in their line. Here's a quote from their site: Fish Brewing provides three bottled organic ales made with choice ingredients grown without the use of the harmful fertilizers and pesticides that damage our precious streams and ground water.
This beer poured a nice golden-bronze color with a two finger white head. Right away a nice aroma of citrusy hops. I thought it might be cascade or centennial, but after reading their website it looks like they use a New Zealand organic hop called Pacific Gem. I've seen these hops for sale on the Seven Bridges Co-op website, and I might have to pick some up, because at least in this beer they were very similar to the two hop types I mentioned. There's a nice caramel presence and some maltiness in the body. A great drinking IPA, similar in my mind to Bell's Two Hearted, which is a good thing! I would for sure buy a sixer of this beer. Their website is: www.fishbrewing.com

New Belgium Mothership Wit- When New Belgium beer finally came to the cities this year we were not only blessed with Fat Tire, but two other great beers, the unique 1554 Black Ale, and this beer, their organic wit. I'm a fan of Belgian white beers, especially Hoegaarden and some American varieties. Hopefully, everyone knows about the pioneering that New Belgium does when it comes to sustainability in the brewing industry. If not, either read Fermenting Revolution by Chris O'Brien or google it because it deserves a post all its own. Anyway, onto the beer.
It pours a very pale yellow color, close to Hoegaarden, with a thin white head. It has a very lemony aroma to it, and some lemony presence in the aftertaste. It has some coriander evident as well, but not as much as some other wits on the market. Overall I think this is a good beer and very refreshing. It's not the best wit I've had or the best beer from New Belgium, but a good drinking wit and nice to see them adding an organic beer to their already wonderful approach to brewing.

Peak Organic Nut Brown Ale- This is the second offering from Peak Organic that I've tried. I like their amber a lot, if you're interested, here's my review http://www.beardedbrewing.org/2008/01/organic-beers.html

The brown ale pours a chocolate brown with a finger of off-white head. It has a nice malty sweetness with hints of chocolate and a nice nutty finish. It has very little hop presence, with a crisp, smoothness to it. Another good beer from Peak and a brown ale that I would put up with any other good browns out there.

I'm happy to see the amount of organic beers growing and I'm sure there are plenty out there I haven't tried. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

Salud!
The Bearded Brewer