With people getting increasingly interested in health, buying free range and organic food, I guess it was only a matter of time before someone came up with an organic beer.
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But it still comes as a bit of a surprise.
See, perhaps I hang out in an unhealthy, pesticide-loving crowd but I had never heard a single beer fan saying “jeez, I wish I could get an organic beer”.
But that’s how Struman’s co-founder Ash Truscott says he came up with the idea for their beers.
“Until recently, beer drinkers were limited when it came to quality alternatives to their usual brands, and that got us thinking - why can’t you get a range of organic beers from behind the bar?” he says in the media release.
The two Struman’s beers – a lager and a Dry variety – have been given the tick by the Australian Certified Organic organisation, which means the barley and hops used were grown free from synthetic pesticides and herbicides, and are non-GM.
Is that any different from most other beers on the market? I’m not sure at all.
Organic ingredients are fine but, at the end of the day, if the beer doesn't taste any good, then who really cares?
On that score the result is a bit mixed.
The lower-carb Dry beer (which clocks in at 4.3 per cent alcohol) is a big disappointment.
It throws the same wet cardboard aroma as macro lagers and there’s a sharp unpleasant bitterness right in the middle of the palate.
There’s also a thin mouthfeel, which is likely due to the drop in carbs (BTW if you’re drinking low-carb beers to lose weight, you've been conned. Most of the calories in beer comes from the alcohol, not the carbs).
The Struman’s lager was quite a surprise. I’d presumed it would be another dull mainstream lager, but the 4.6 per cent beer has a bit going for it.
There’s none of the wet cardboard aroma here and there are some nice biscuity malt notes on the palate. Does it taste organic? Buggered if I know.
In terms of hops, there’s a lick of bitterness at the end – enough to provide some interest but still within the lager boundaries.
If you want to try some organic beers, then these will be available soon through Dan Murphy’s and BWS.