Growers want organic hops in organic beer


Northwest organic hop growers are poised to win a legal battle requiring organic beer to use organic hops.

Share this article!

Northwest organic hop growers are poised to win a legal battle to require organic beer to use organic hops.

Strange rules have allowed beer companies to call products organic without using organic hops, but those rules may be changing soon.

The tale of organic hops is a window on the little-known exceptions built into organic standards. In some cases, including in the $41 million organic beer market, carrying the coveted organic stamp doesn’t always mean a product is completely organic.

When the board, which operates within the U.S. Department of Agriculture, deems an organic ingredient too hard to get, it can waive it for producers and still allow them to display the USDA’s certified organic label. The non-organic ingredients have to be less than 5 percent of the product’s total weight, excluding water.

Read more at OregonLive.com.

{biztweet}organic hops{/biztweet}