I'm searching for beers that aren't identified as organic because they haven't gone through the certification process, but that follow the practices or organic growing. Lists of breweries, beers, etc., would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.
This is a pretty tall order. Most breweries are ordering their hops and malt from large companies so they don't really have much input on how the product is produced other than to buy organic or not. Beyond that they are choosing based on perceived quality which doesn't necessarily relate to organic/chemical cultivation practices. We have a local brewery that offers a core line up of organic beers but almost none of their rotating beers are organic, when I asked about it they told me the primary inhibiting factor was that many of the most modern hop varietals are not being produced organically that they know of.
Look into Lakefront's portfolio from Milwaukee. I know they have a certified organic barleywine (which was just re-released in miniscule quantities) and I think when I took the tour years ago I remember the guide saying something about all of their beers being 'inadvertently organic' due to their ingredient sourcing. Never looked into the organic-across-the-board claim (sounds a bit dubious) but seems like that might be what you are looking for.
Thanks for the tips. I'll see out some of these beers. Talking to people offline also pointed to organic hops as the hardest thing to get, because of the difficult nature of hop growing. Some New Zealand hops may grow more easily, making them quasi organic, from what I heard. Happy drinking!
