Drink Up: Your Planet Is Counting On You

Anything that is good for the planet and gets you drunk is a gift from God. Associated Press writer Marc Lallanilla offers up this list of 10 great organic beers, via the Forecast Earth website.

For the comments section: Have any of you tried any of these beers? How were they?

I've had some Wolaver's, but not the wit. I think it was the pale ale, and I remember it being pretty good. And I've actually drank at Hopworks in Portland as part of Bill's bicycling brewpub tour, and remember it was great, although I don't remember which beers I had. Stone Mill is available here in Austin, and I think I may have had it once, although I can't say it made an impression on me. Mothership Wit, also widely available, is probably one I should try, but I've noted many times here than wheat beers only occasionally agree with me.

UPDATE: Turns out Lanilla is, like me, a University of Texas alum. He e-mailed me to say:

I thought I would mention that I am not a writer for Associated Press, but a freelance writer for LifeWire, a division of The New York Times Company. A minor point, but you know how things go viral on the Internet.

And tell everyone in Austin I said hello -- I lived there during and after my UT college days, from 1979 to 1987.

Thanks again -- and Hook 'em, Horns!

Organic Beers

Well shoot, I wish someone had told me that Oct. 15 was Blog Action Day, devoted to environmental issues. I'd have done something special. Well, I suppose it's not too late. In honor of doing the right thing for our planet, I encourage you to drink organic beers and ride your bicycle instead of driving your car.

The Tour de Fat, coming to Austin tomorrow (sadly, I won't be able to attend), is a New Belgium Event devoted to beer and bikes. And I did my part on vacation this summer when my good friends Bill and Todd took me on a pedaling tour of Portland brewpubs.

I don't see organic beers as often as I'd like, but here's a quick round-up of what I could find (If you know of others, please list them in the comments section):

• Wolaver's
• Peak
• Wild Hop Lager
• Stone Mill Pale Ale
• Bison
• Orlio
• Henry Weinhard's Organic Amber
• Samuel Smith's Organic Lager and Organic Ale
• Wychwood Circle Master (I think Circle Master is called Scarecrow here in the U.S.)
• New Belgium Mothership Wit (Additionally, New Belgium has a strong commitment to sustainability in producing their brews, including a heavy reliance on wind energy.

One more tip: drink locally brewed beer whenever possible, because if the beer is produced close to you, less energy is used to transport it to you. Now of course, I'll admit that taste is a bigger motivator in my beer choices than locale — and how can I be a proper beer snob if I don't buy plenty of imports? — but fortunately, Texas brewers are producing some great stuff these days (see my list in the right-hand column) and I drink their products as much as I can.