Thursday, April 19, 2012

Samuel Smith Organic Lager


You won't find me buying anything . . . including beer . . . based solely on its organic-ness.  In my opinion, a lot of organic stuff isn't as all natural as the manufacturer would like us to believe.  Just because you're buying something that hasn't been subjected to antibiotics, hormones or pesticides doesn't mean that it's source hasn't been genetically modified . . . what's worse?  Definitions of what can be considered organic is a bit dicey.  Okay . . . I'll step down off my soap box . . . 





That being said, I decided to give a couple of organic beers a try and I did purchase them based on the their organic-ness.  Am I a hypocrite?  No . . . I did for no other reason than to earn a badge on Untapped.  April is Organic Beer Month and in order to earn this badge one must consume two organic beers . . . easy enough.  I think I can manage to choke down a beer or two.  Who says we don't need no stinkin' badges??




I had to choose beer based only on the fact that they claim to be organic. One those was Samuel Smith's Organic Lager.


Samuel Smith Brewery is located in merry ol' England.  Although it is Yorkshire's oldest brewery  . . established in 1758 . . . it only produces the 5% of the town's beer.  I find it interesting that Samuel Smith uses water from a well that was dug over 200 years ago; they also use hand-weighed hops and an ancient strain of yeast that dates back to when the brewery first opened.












I can't really judge the Organic Lager based on it organic-ness but I can certainly judge it on its own merits.  I can't say that I've ever consumed a British made lager before.  So, I don't know if this particular lager is indicative of all English Lagers.




I very much enjoyed this one.  It is a lovely golden color with a frothy head.  It was slightly sweet with a lot of malty flavor and not at all bitter; simply a refreshing, smooth, full-bodied lager. Organic or not, I would certainly buy this beer again.  (5% ABV)




For more information go to Samuel Smith's website.






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