Joe Sixpack | Secret's out on hops and organic beer

0 Comments | Philadelphia Daily News, June, 2007

ORGANIC BEER'S dirty little secret is finally out in the open.

Namely, that one of its main ingredients - hops, the bitter, aromatic flower that spices beer - isn't really organic. Almost all U.S.-made organic beers contain hops that have been chemically treated to fight mildew and insects.

Many organic brewers take advantage of an odd loophole in whole-food rules that says just 95 percent of a product's ingredients need be organic to qualify for that green-and-white "USDA Organic" logo on its label.

Beer is mostly water, so while hops provide a good part of a beer's aroma and flavor, the flowers are only a fraction of the total ingredients.

Few leaf-eaters knew about the loophole till last...