St. Patrick’s day is often an opportunity to celebrate the Irish influence around the world. And the celebration often involves a drink or two - can you be green and also “green”? Tell us about your favorite organic wines and beers. Read some information from our Green Team - Erin go Bragh!
Organic Beer
In the Olden Days, the greenest beer you could get to celebrate the patron saint of Ireland had green food coloring in it and looked like radioactive fruit punch. Today, “green” beer means organic beer… and that means made from 95% organically grown ingredients. We’re sure St. Patrick would appreciate the absence of toxic fertilizers, insecticides and the like which means less pollution in the water, soil and air and THAT means…
We can drink more beer! Or at least we can drink better beer! And of course, it’s very important that we not drive cars when we do it. Which, as it turns out, is also green.
Organic beers are great tasting, made from organically grown wheat/barley (sometimes also rice, oats, and rye) and hops and are mostly produced and consumed locally, which reduces the long-distance fuel consumption/tranportation of products/ pollution issue considerably. Having spawned from the momentum of the micro-brewery boom of the 90’s, organic beer is so rapidly gaining in scope and popularity that even some of the mega brewers like Anheuser-Busch have joined in the party.
Biodynamic Wine
For those of you who prefer wine, there’s a whole lot of organic wine to choose from. There’s also biodynamic wine, which is one step beyond simply organic. Invented by Austrian philosopher, Rudolf Steiner in 1924, biodynamic agriculture is based on the belief that a farm should be a self-contained living organism. Farmers must avoid pesticides and raise animals to provide their own fertilizer, placing an emphasis on balancing the holistic development and interrelationship of the soil, plants and animals as a closed, self-nourishing system.
Biodynamic wines, or BD wines as they are being called, have become popular in large wine-producing countries like Italy, France, Australia and the United States.
Along with the environmental benefits of organic and BD wines come better-tasting, longer open-bottle life wines that go down smooth and are less likely to leave you with a nasty hangover the next day. And like the micro-breweries, organic and BD wines are mostly made by smaller, community-oriented businesses, which you will be supporting when you buy their wine.
Overall, the most noticeable difference between organic and conventional beer and wine is the price and even that’s becoming less of an issue as the industry grows. So belly up to the bar and have a delicious pesticide-free cold one or a holistically balanced red. You deserve it!
We hope you enjoy your St. Patrick’s day festivities responsibly - no matter how “green” your beverage is, please remember to drink responsibly…and don’t drive!!