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(Click on Interest)Brew Chatter
Beer is by far the most popular alcoholic beverage among Canadian consumers.
The ancient Babylonians were among history's earliest brewers and decreed that any commercial beermaker who sold unfit beer would be drowned in his/her own libation.
Why a six pack? In the 1930's major breweries determined that six bottles was the most that a woman would carry home from the market.
Unlike wines, most beers should be stored upright to minimize oxidation and metal or plastic contamination from the cap. High-alcohol ales, however, continue to ferment in their corked bottles. They should be stored on their sides.
Before thermometers, brewers used to check the temperature by dipping their thumb into the brew. This is where the phrase " The Rule of the Thumb" originated.
Canadian beer is available in 37 different countries. Top three countries that export beer into Canada - Netherlands, United States and Mexico.
The first Oktoberfest was held in 1810 to celebrate the wedding of the Crown Prince of Bavaria.
Hops are used to provide bittering to beer. Without them, beer would be exceptionally sweet. Originally hops were a preservative because the resins and oils in them prevented bacterial infections.
Studying the experimentally induced intoxicated behavior of ants in 1888, naturalist John Lubbock noticed that the insects that had too much to drink were picked up by nest mates and carried home. Conversely, drunken strangers were summarily tossed in a ditch.
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Field to Table - Organic Beer
The earliest brew reference was a painted clay vessel dating from the fourth millennium BC. Interestingly enough, it shows two women drinking beer and you can bet your bottom buck it was organic.
Today, as you eat your grassfed, locally-raised beef burger, or down a fabulous veggie burger with parsnip fries we can once again enjoy the experience by downing a local organic ale.
Why Organic or Natural Beer?
Health Issues
While microbreweries have been championing homegrown products with enormous success for years it still involves the consumption of alcohol, a known carcinogen.
In a study on carcinogens, the U .S. Department of Health and Human Services warns, "Consumption of alcoholic beverages is causally related to cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, and esophagus," and there are possible connections between consumption of alcoholic beverages and breast and liver cancers.
This report also found other "components and contaminants" besides ethanol in wine, beer and spirits that are known or suspected human carcinogens, including acetaldehyde, nitrosamines, aflatoxins, ethyl carbamate (urethan), asbestos, and arsenic compounds. No clear information is available on dosage levels and harm to health, but alcoholic beverages indisputably contain substances carcinogenic to humans.
Environmental Issues:
Beer is made primarily from barley and hops, with some wheat used to make "wheat beers." Producing these grains commercially involves the use of herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides, as well as fossil-fuel derived fertilizers. Hops are particularly susceptible to fungus, which conventional growers treat with large amounts of fungicide. These chemicals pose threats to human health and ecosystems.
On the Road
Transporting beer around the world consumes fossil fuel resources. According to The Rodale Institute, the average mouthful of food travels 1400 miles. When that mouthful is beer - a heavy liquid often distributed in a heavy glass bottle, which waits to be consumed for days or weeks in a refrigerated case - the fossil fuel consumption is particularly large. Moreover, in Canada almost 10 percent of beer is imported, journeying from even farther distances to reach consumers.
Unfortunately, the small scale of organic grain production for beer also requires fossil fuels to transport these grains to brewers. Because of the current small demand, there are only a few providers of certified organic malt in the North America, and organic hops must for the most part be imported from New Zealand. Organic brewers hope that with increased demand for their product, there will be a greater incentive to grow more organic barley and hops in North America which will not only help small farmers, but also reduce the oil consumed in transportation.
The Solution - What To Look For
Organic beer offers the environmentally conscious consumer a better alternative. The benefits of buying organic beer are clear, in the host of harmful substances not introduced into the environment and into our food system. Making beer with organic grains supports a farm system that enhances soil fertility, increases species diversity, conserves water and produces fewer greenhouse gases.
There are relatively few bottled organic beers on the market, but they readily identify themselves on the label. "Certified Organic" beers are made with organic ingredients which include standards for chemicals used to clean breweries. Beers "made with organic ingredients" are made from organic grains, but not processed in certified organic breweries. Both types of organic beers support organic farmers.
Buy Local
Microbreweries have become popular over the last few decades, as beer are brewed in small vats. Buying local beer reduces the amount of fossil fuels used in shipping, and supports smaller, local businesses. Many restaurants have their own microbreweries on premises and most regions now boast regional beer-makers.
Shopping Suggestions
Canadian certified organic beers. Choose from Beyond the Pale Ale, Red Branch Irish Ale, Back Hand of God Stout, Hell's Kitchen Ale and Old Mill Flax Ale, as well as seasonal ales in the fall.
Unfortunately for the rest of Canada Crannog doesn't bottle its beer, but sells it in five and fifteen gallon kegs. Produced in British Columbia Crannog Ales operates a zero-waste facility; brewery is part of a certified organic farm.