Never having an organic beer before I wondered how they would compare to regular beers. Kyle and I were pleasantly surprised. I would buy some of these beers again just because I like them, and then they just happen to be organic. Now to be fair, I am sure there are a lot of brewers that buy from farms that don't use pesticides. But, for this test we only wanted to try 'organic' beers. So this is what we were judging: color, aroma, and taste. For this test (this was so fun I think we will do more) we were judging 5 pale ales. However, upon closer inspection it doesn't appear that they are all "pale ales" oh well close enough. Oh, and one of them isn't domestic, which wasn't part of the deal either. I am hardly going to dump that research down the drain so you will find info on them here as well.
So here they are, in no particular order (other than this was the tasting order) and our findings.
Wolaver'sTM Pale Ale: The color was a clear, dark amber, with moderate carbonation. The aroma was grainy, and hoppy. We gave it an average of 5.5 on the hoppiness scale, and a 3 for maltiness (sweetness). We both thought the finish was smooth, light, and refreshing. This was Kyle's favorite pick. He typically will pick up a 6er of Sierra Nevada® or Stone® Pale Ale, if you would like to compare tastes.
Butte Creek Brewing Company Organic Ale: The light amber/ golden color was as accompanied by moderate carbonation. Butte Creek definitely had more carbonation than the Wolaver'sTM. Out of all of them, this one had the strongest aroma. Very earthy, you could pick out the barley in it. We gave it an average of 2 on the hoppiness scale, and a 6.5 for maltiness. Finished nice and easy, very balanced. Kyle's enjoyed this one more than the Wolaver'sTM on the first time through (we had a little refresher at the end).
Goose Island Beer Company, Lamar Street Organic Pale Ale: The color was a dark red amber, and wasn't clear. The carbonation was very light. The aroma was fruity and sweet for me, balanced for Kyle. We gave it an average of 3 on the hoppiness scale, and a 5 for maltiness. The finish was full bodied, and clean. It was too flat for Kyle, but this was my favorite! I typically like everything.
Stone Mill Organic Pale Ale (Michelob Brewing Co. ®): The color was light honey, with the highest amount of carbonation. We couldn't believe how fruity it smelled, like banana almost. We gave it an average of 2 on the hoppiness scale, and a 7 for maltiness. The finish was fruity with a bite. Kyle could taste the banana and that was a little weird for him. However, this kind of tasted like a white beer for me (which I love). I liked this one.
Wychwood Scarecrow Golden Pale Ale: The color was a light gold, with very light carbonation. The aroma was nutty. We gave it an average of 4 on the hoppiness scale, and a 3.5 for maltiness. The finish was balanced. We both thought it tasted very European...it's brewed in England.
If you are interested in trying any of these I recommend checking out the brewers websites for a list of distributors. We had a lot of fun doing this and think it would be a GREAT idea for a party.
Let me know if there are any product categories that you are particularly interested in and I would be happy to test them out for you!
