Category — Brews

Written by: Tom Pellicane

New Belgium Brewing shared three of their craft beers with the Green Palate to experience. They shared their Mothership Wit Organic Wheat Beer, Fat Tire Amber Ale and Enlightened Black Ale. We were all excited to get started with our tasting and thought we’d fine tune our process for this tasting since it was now our third time together as a panel. We all agreed on a couple of changes that would enhance the experience. First, we decided not to read anything about the beers before we tasted. We wouldn’t even let Katie, our keeper of knowledge, begin to speak. Second, we agreed that after each initial action taking in the nose, savoring on the palate there would be no talking for one minute. These were both instituted to avoid subliminally affecting our interpretations of the beer. [Read more →]

In the midst of day to day life and chaos- a transitioning small business, a near 3 year old toddle son, near 18 year old daughter graduating HS  and full tilt in interviews for my next career opportunity- my husband Tom & I decided to steal a few moments in the later afternoon for us- a break from reality. Our initial “let’s grab a glass of wine”  (to celebrate a break through in my career search) landed us at Canterbury Ales in Huntington Village, a casual pub with a laid back atmosphere,  good food & people. [Read more →]

Last Saturday my wife, Adele, and I had a chance to go to the Craft Beer Festival at Martha Clara Vineyard. I had not been to last year’s event and I wasn’t sure what to expect.

That said Adele and I had a great time. We sampled some great beer and spent time with fun people.

Some event highlights…These are some of the great craft beers I enjoyed a lot, in no particular order, but worth checking out for your self

Trois Pistoles- Unibroue
Sweet Action – Six Point Ales
Maple Oat Ale – Peak Organic
Captains Reserve Imperial IPA – Captain Lawrence

There were a lot of other great beers these are just a few the stuck with me.

Some other event highlights….

Asking the cigar vendor to cut a cigar in half so I could share it with someone – he didn’t like the idea at all, gave me the cigar cutter and snip I cut an ok cigar in half. Little did I know that my cousin, who was also at the event, was walking around with a pocket full of great cigars he brought from home – oh well.

Maxwell and Dunne’s Demo’s – I’ve known the owner of the restaurant since the launch of canvas, he, Jed also happens to own the Long Island Press and is a great supporter of canvas. When the restaurant went Organic they became a client of ours and I got to meet Chris Palmer, Exec Chef & GM and Chris Carpenter, Restaurant Manager. Needless to say we became fast friends. They are truly nuts in the most positive way. Watching them Saturday was an entertaining delight as they regaled about organics, steak and cooking in fire heated Dutch ovens.

Tom Pellicane – Publisher, canvas Magazine

Organic beer is one of today’s fastest growing—and selling—beverages. But will it replace the Heineken in your fridge?

Written by: Christopher O’Hara

With everything going “green,” beer hasn’t missed the boat. And I’m not talking about the green-hued pitcher of suds you’re likely to find at Finnegan’s on March 17th. I’m talking about certified organic premium beer—the stuff you are increasingly likely to find at your local supermarket. Green beer is growing, and as an avid beer drinker, the author of a popular beer book, and a stereotypical Irishman, I felt it was my duty to investigate this growing phenomenon for canvas.

My first stop was the closest supermarket: Southdown Market in Huntington. An upscale store featuring both organic fare and an excellent selection of upscale beer (including, just recently, some high-end Belgian Trappist ales), Southdown Market seemed like a good place to find an organic beer. After some searching in the cold aisle, I came across the only organic beer in stock: Peak Organic Pale Ale ($8.99). Sheathed in a rather pleasant six-pack carrier, the packaging promised “six 12-ounce bottles of delicious organic beer.” I grabbed it—and a backup six-pack of Budweiser, just in case.

My next stop was Whole Foods market in Jericho, that also boasts a high-end selection of suds—albeit, stocking only 2 additional certified organic beer choices besides Peak. I grabbed a six-pack of Wolaver’s organic Pale ale ($8.99), and the very rich-looking Old Ploughshare Stout ($8.99 for a four-pack).

At home, I immediately decanted a bottle of Peak Organic Pale ale into a tall, frosted beer glass and admired its frothy head. This looked, smelled and—yes—tasted like a very high-quality and delicious pale ale. I also sampled a bottle of the Wolaver’s Pale ale, and although the two ales were highly distinctive, both matched up well—and, in some cases, surpassed many commercially available pale ales I have tried. Both ales were flavorful, well carbonated, and characterized by the light malt character and “high-hop” taste of a classic IPA. I put the Old Ploughshare stout up against my tried and true Guiness stout, and found it to be a dark beer worth a second look—and a good organic-stout alternative.

On the whole, I could see why organic beer is beginning to break out of the “fad” category and experience a wider acceptance. If organic beer is anything like organic wine, then the future is bright for Peak Brewing, Otter Creek Brewing (Wolaver’s) and their organic-brew brethren. Current projections have organic wine’s share at a surprising 1 percent of the $23 billion U.S. wine market—with a growth rate that can approach an astonishing 50 percent a year.

Sales of organic beer are a lot smaller, but rapidly growing. In 2005—a year that overall beer sales actually declined—organic beer sales were up 40 percent, to $19 million. That may be a small number in the overall scale of the segment (by comparison, Anheuser-Busch sells about $8 billion worth of beer every year). Yet organic beer accounts for a tremendous amount of chemicals taken out of the agricultural process, which “can cause soil degradation and chemical runoff that contaminate water sources and the ecosystems they support,” according to Jon Cadoux, organic-beer pioneer and the founder and president of Peak Organic Brewing Company. An avid brewer and active environmentalist, Cadoux combined his love for both with a Harvard MBA and began brewing commercially in 1998. Located in Portland, Maine, the company brews three varieties of 100-percent organic beer and ships around the country. After drinking some of his beer, I tracked Jon down and asked him some obvious questions:

canvas: Tell canvas something about yourself.

Jon Cadoux: I’m pretty obsessed with brewing, so my life isn’t very sexy otherwise. Lately, we have been working on some really interesting new brews, so the obsession has worsened, at the expense of having a fun personal life. When I have time, I enjoy surfing, hiking, and skiing or snowboarding with family and friends.

canvas: Is organic beer better than “regular” beer? Or is all of this a lot of hype?

JC: I truly believe that the purest barley and hops are grown on
small family farms that don’t use toxic pesticides and chemical fertilizers. These farmers are leading the way in terms of quality and we are honored to use their output in our ales. The foundation of an excellent beer is pure ingredients, and we think our organic farmers are making the purest out there.

canvas: Does organic beer last as long?

JC: There is nothing about using organic ingredients that should materially affect shelf life. Organic beer has pretty much the same shelf life as non-organic beer.

canvas: What is the organic-beer movement like right now? Is this going to be a real trend, or is it just another way to cash in on the “green” phenomenon?

JC: Organic beer is doing great because some brewing companies are putting out superb organic products. If folks can drink a superior craft beer that happens to be organic, then it’s a win-win. As an environmentalist, for me the end game is to have all brewing companies making certified organic beer. To reverse the serious issues of agricultural runoff and soil degradation, it’s going to take a lot more than 1 percent of barley and hops to be grown organically. It will take time, but I hope to see a vast majority of beer brewed around the world be certified organic in my lifetime.

canvas: Are you some kind of hippie? What made you want to brew “organic” beer anyway?

JC: I’m more of a foodie. We started brewing with organic ingredients because we were noticing that a lot of organic products we were buying just tasted better than the non-organic products. When we saw the quality of the organic barley that we were able to source, we were hooked. The organic-certification process is extremely difficult and takes a lot of our time and efforts. I think it’s worth it, though, because consumers should have every confidence that a product with the “USDA Organic” seal is the real deal. We work very closely with our certification agency to make sure that our organic raw materials never come in contact with “non-organic” materials and that our washing and rinsing procedures are proper.

canvas: What non-organic beers do you enjoy?

JC: I’m all over the board. The beers that get me the most excited are the ones that really innovate within a style. The ability of a brewer to really showcase the raw ingredients they are using and to create a beer that is complex and flavorful is what I am after. At the end of the day, I think a brewer should look at a beer they just made and think “what did this just add to the craft brewing scene?” I think if we all continually ask ourselves that, craft beer will continue to thrive the way it is now.

Find Organic Beer on Long Island

Peak Organic Pale Ale, Wolaver’s, and Old Ploughshare can be found on Long Island at Whole Foods in Jericho. Peak can also be found at Southdown Market in Huntington, as well as popular chains including Waldbaum’s, King Kullen, Wild by Nature, and the Food Emporium. It’s also served at many restaurants and bars including JP McGeevers (on draught) in Garden City South, Half Penny Pub in Sayville, the Garden City Country Club (also on draught), and The Library in Farmingdale.

Christopher O’Hara’s most recent book, Great American Beer, won a “Man at His Best” award from Esquire Magazine.

I have to admit I am a bit ignorant of the South shore of LI, but since I have moved back to LI a little over 3 years ago, I have made a point of spending more time there. In my younger days the the south shore of LI meant one thing: Long Beach/Island Park. I worked at places like Paddy Mcgees, Sprats on the water and the Coyote Grill, so that was really what I was familiar with.

Since moving back I have had several great dining experiences in places like Sayville and Babylon, but last night was a first for me in Patchogue. I was out with 2 friends, Lenn and Dan and we started off at Blue Point Brewery, which was definitely not what I expected. Its quite a small room and bar, although the energy in the room is high and in good spirits. Anne Marie the bartender took care of us and walked us through the complimentary tasting, starting with the Golden Ale in these little 4 ounce cups, and took us through the whole process tasting such fun brews as the ‘No Apologies’ Imperial IPA, ‘Old Howling Bastard’ barley wine and my favorite ‘Hoptical Illusion’ American style IPA. The room had a nice mix of people, some wearing frat sweatshirts and others that looked liked they just came back from some pre-spring fishing. We spent about an hour and half sipping and sampling (we had to pour alot out because we were driving) the different ‘hoppy’ concoctions and then we decided to stop by one of the newest craft beer locations on LI, ‘Once and For All’ about a 1/2 mile away on Main St in downtown Patchogue.

This location has a real homey feel and you can tell they are still getting there feet wet but a very nice beer list including one of my absolute favorites: Chimay Triple. Chimay is made by trappist monks in Belgium since 1850, they are famous for their brewing expertise as well as their delicious cheeses. It is an interesting mixed decor with a nice looking bar and metal bar stools. I saw something really cool for the first time it was a ‘Beer Message Board’, it is a chalk board where you can buy your friend a specific beer and leave them a message, how neat! Lenn and Dan both had a version of Sly Fox that slips my memory. About half way through my Chimay I was starting to get real hungry and we had Bobbigue on the schedule which I had heard quite a bit about so I was excited. Sadly, I had to leave half my Chimay because I was driving, but it was still worth ordering, it is so darn good.

Bobbique was great! Atmosphere is fun and lively, there was a live band playing some old blues covers that was decent. You walk in and order right at the front desk, I went with the St. Louis ribs and sides were beans and mac n cheese with corn bread. The ribs were fabulous, moist, juicy and delicious. We had some good service from Sadi, she brought me a small taste of Bulleit bourbon, which was a very nice, smoky choice. Lenn and Dan opted for the Stone IPA and we had good conversations about food, beer, the wonders of fatherhood and life. The sides were ok and the corn bread wasn’t good enough or the birds. Also, I like it in bbq joints when there are 3 or 4 different bbq sauces to try, at our table there was only one and it was pretty good but not great. I will definitely go back to try some other dishes, the menu is stocked with different choices that I would like to explore.

I am really glad that we ended up in Patchogue, it certainly seems like a growing cultural area here on LI where we will have some great choices in food, beer and art in the future. The Patchogue Theater which frames out some other quite interesting architecture in Patchogue, is just across the street from Bobbique, which has some really nice events every month. I think Patchogue is going to become a regular point of destination for me after this most recent experience. Would you like to join me?

- Matt O’Grady, Associate Publisher, canvas Magazine