Eel River - Both Organic AND Beer!

This whole organic thing is getting a bit out of control. Every other product hitting shelves these days, from beer to wine to spirits, announces itself as organic, bio-dynamic, blah, blah, and all that. It isn’t that I begrudge the movement itself; in fact, I’m all for it. Taking steps towards lessening the carbon footprint is not only respectable, it’s responsible and indicative of a business practice invested with a considerable amount of soul… something oft missing in Our Lady Commerce.

But that’s the thing: because people are starting to catch up to the green movement, the word “organic” has become a marketing buzzword, a bastardized, empty shell of a word that has less to do with any philosophy and more to do with attracting sales. Half of the breweries/wineries/distilleries out there meet the bare minimum of legal requirements necessary to print the claim on the label, caring not about the earth or this, that or the third. Oh well. I guess I should be happy some steps are taken, right?

But then there’s Eel River. Dig their website. Claims at achieving organic status first, which would mean they’ve been organic since way back in 1997, when it became a gosh-darn, honest-to-goodness legal term and that would mean that they’ve been organic since before it was a marketing buzzword. So, okay.

I’m drinking on the Raven’s Eye, their Russian Imperial Stout. According to the website, this brew’s won awards and awards before, and I can see why. The beer in the glass is dark with a swirling beige head that drifts around like astral patterns on its skin. The deep and dark color and the thick, roasted nose suggest a huge beer, but it’s really not all that huge. It’s nice and light on the tongue. Which isn’t to suggest that the flavors aren’t profound or complex; they in fact, are very profound and very complex, with the roasted espresso flavors bouncing off a subtle hoppiness. The dissonance between the body and the flavors is actually the most compelling aspect of drinking on this brew.

So, dig on the organics. Trust that this company is, in fact, committed to the organic movement in a way that perhaps others are not. But this beer stands up besides the organic label. It’s an organic beer that is both organic and beer, not some boardroom formula simulating both.

dJp

Tags: beer, California, craft beer, dark beer, eel river, imperial stouts, organic, stouts
Category: Beer Reviews | Comments (0)

Ale? Lager? Whatchoo drinkin?

For the casual beer drinker, or for the rookies breaking into the field, the various classifications of beer can get pretty confusing. Often times, the designation on the bottle doesn’t give much of a clue as to the exact nature of the brew inside. What exactly is a dubbel? Is it an ale or a lager? (It’s an ale) How does it fit in a larger spectrum?

Glad you asked. Check out this flow chart. When you’re tasting your beer, use it as a reference - if you like dark beers, like porters, maybe you can find something else you like just as well.

Get learned.

dJp

Tags: ale, beer, classifications, dark beer, flow chart, lager, light beer, porter
Category: Beer Reviews, The Beer Blog | Comments (0)