Organic Craft Beer

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But a successful lawsuit brought against the U.S.D.A. by an organic blueberry farmer from Vermont has put that whole arrangement in doubt. The suit reflected the concerns of a number of organic consumers and veteran organic producers, who worry that the U.S.D.A. is watering down the term organic. One major point of contention was the exemption list. Now, the U.S.D.A. is accepting public comment on the list and will decide this fall whether to alter it, leaving the future of organic beer up in the air.

Organic hardliners have no doubts: There should be no exemption list at all. The Organic Consumers Association labeled hops’ presence on the list the “Budweiser exemption,” presumably because the huge company was a better target than the small Vermont brewery of a longtime organic activist like Wolaver.

That’s somewhat amusing, because Anheuser-Busch was able to accommodate the zealots’ demands, reformulating its brews to use organic hops exclusively. The beers were made with some organic hops already; as of June 9, the company’s brewers started brewing with only the organic hops they had.

But that’s not going to be easy to keep up. “We don’t have enough hops right now to last the year,” Muhleman said in early July. They’re finding sources for more organic hops—Muhleman recently flew to New Zealand to meet with a producer—but this only puts more strain on the hops market for other brewers.

Wolaver acknowledges that Anheuser-Busch’s entry into his niche isn’t all bad. “If Anheuser-Busch buys up all the organic hops, that helps the market,” he says. “It encourages farmers to grow organic hops.” But new hop vines take at least three years before they begin to produce, and Wolaver says he knows of two farmers who have torn out unsuccessful fields of Cascades.

It’s not going to get better anytime soon. Sales of organic beers have grown approximately 40 percent annually since 2004. SABMiller has launched an organic beer under its Henry Weinhard’s label; a number of craft brewers have added organic beers to their lines; and business is booming for Butte Creek Brewing, an organic brewer in Chico, California. They all want more organic hops.

“The U.S.D.A. is looking for people to prove [that they will face] a serious economic burden if a product is delisted,” Wolaver says. “If you take hops off the list, you’ve cut my production to about a fifth of what it is now. So who do you want me to fire?”

Even if taking hops off the list didn’t end up being cataclysmic for the organic-beer category, it would leave it dramatically changed. The organic hops that remain available represent a small fraction of the full range of hops. “Say I need Perle hops for a recipe,” Cadoux says. “People are going to say, ‘Can’t you just use something else that’s available organically?’ No, I can’t.” Organic brewers could compensate by brewing beers that don’t need a lot of hops. So you may see a lot more spiced witbier, smooth brown ale, malt-heavy bock, and strong, sweet abbey styles, but you won’t see many organic I.P.A.’s.

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