E-Malt.com News article: United States: Organic beer sales more than double since 2005

With Oregon leading the charge, sales of organic beer have more than doubled since 2005 with $41 million in "green" brew sold in the U.S. last year, Sustainable Business Oregon reported on June, 22.

Since the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) formally adopted organic standards in 2002, organic beer has seen impressive growth in terms of volume and revenue. In 2009, the organic beer sector more than doubled the $19 million in sales reported just four years prior in 2005.

The standards for USDA organic certification include two main elements; at least 95 percent of the ingredients in a product must be organically grown (without chemical pesticides or agents), and no genetically engineered ingredients can be used. Since water and salt can't be classified as organic, they are excluded from consideration.

According to Barbara Haumann, a senior writer and editor with the Organic Trade Association, applications for organic certifications are at an all-time high. The certification process is carried out by a number of USDA-accredited agencies.

Although 5 percent of a certified organic product is allowed to be non-organic, companies must provide evidence that the non-organic ingredients they are using are not viable in organic form.

With certified organic beer, hops are the only ingredient that is allowed to be non-organic. Since hops are a minor beer ingredient in terms of weight, they fall within the 5% margin. Mike Dill, a processing farm inspector and reviewer with Oregon Tilth, notes that most organic beers don't use organic hops.

"The availability of organic hops are limited in quantity and quality," Dill said.

Haumann said there is a written acknowledgment of the scarcity of organic hop varieties.

"The National Organic Standards include a provision that if a beer manufacturer can prove to his or her certifying agency that the variety of hops it needs for a particular beer is not commercially available, it can use a non-organic hop as a minor ingredient in its organic beer," she said.

Organic growth of hops is difficult and expensive, but some Oregon growers — Indie Hops and The Oregon Hophouse to name two — are planting organic hops for use in craft beer.

"It's definitely a growing trend," said Nancy Frketich, administrator of the Oregon Hops Commission. "We're seeing more organic hops than we have in the past in both Oregon and Washington."




23 June, 2010