Comments on: The Session #13: Green Lakes Organic Ale

By: Thomas

Thomas — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 06:10:54 +0000

I’d consider Heather tips if you can get your hands on them Tom, great for Milds or Scottish

By: Tom Burnett

Tom Burnett — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 23:01:39 +0000

I am completely out of my depth here, but I suspect that bad things are going to happen to the economy and it makes sense to attempt brewing on a small scale if we who live on remote Pacific islands are going to be bartering on a larger scale, for two reasons….naturally, the first is that people will want a bucket of beer…but the second is purely practical. All of our water is rainwater and it must be held in catchment systems…which can fill up with things you don’t want to drink. So, given a choice between boiling water or using the same wood to brew beer, which is safe to drink, beer wins.

Hops, however, won’t grow in the tropics. Will someone please point me to a book that explains how to make beer or ale with heat but without the traditional hops? Obviously I am a neophyte, but this may well be something I need to learn at an accelerated pace.

Thanks to all,
I am sorry for picking a thread basically at random. I did a search and this popped up.

a hui hou
Tom

By: Todd

Todd — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 15:22:04 +0000

Ok, here we go.

Salmon-Safe: a marketing angle(?) that represents hop growers (Oregon only?) who provide a “buffer zone” between hop fields and streams to eliminate pesticide and herbicide residue runoff. This is good ( but unneccesary if growing REAL organic hops). Is this just “organic hops” cheating with Imitacloprid? Unlevel playing fields out there.

Dishwater harsh: could that be from roasted aphids or imitacloprid residue or just soap in the system? (joke?)

Yerba Mate: These leaves must be dried, organic or not. Some providers “smoke” dry the leaves while others dehydrate the leaves. There is a HUGE difference in flavor. The “smoke” dried leaves seem like they have so much precipitated residue on them from whatever plant they burn to dry the leaves that the Yerba Mate tastes extremely harsh. The dehydrated leaves have a wonderful natural sweet flavor.

But beyond the obvious, there are other reasons to think organic ales might actually taste better.

If it’s really organic, it will taste different- and better.

If you can’t tell, I’m a Certified Organic Hop and Tomato Grower and I’m biased because I’m spoiled.

And I respect folks with enough passion to go through the organic certification process. Watch the movie “My Father’s Garden” and see what you think.

By: Stan Hieronymus

Stan Hieronymus — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 21:39:38 +0000

It was a wee bit pedestrian, I thought.

That’s because you are spoiled.

I sort of remember you have written on this topic of organic maybe bringing out the best in brewers. If so we can add the link here.

By: Jeff Alworth

Jeff Alworth — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 21:35:52 +0000

I can’t say whether the hops are all organic, either, but it’s worth noting that to be certified organic by Oregon Tilth, the entire brewery has to go through a six-month vetting. So give the brewery its due there.

Also, Oregon has really gone organic. Many breweries now feature organic beers, some are all-organic, and we have an Organic Beer Festival (June will mark the third anniversary).

I found Green Lakes a disappointment, mainly because the brewery has produced so many exceptional beers. It was a wee bit pedestrian, I thought.