SOURCE: MNN.COM By Stephanie Rogers
There’s nothing better than a cold, delicious pint of beer — except maybe a cold, delicious pint of organic beer made in a solar-powered brewery. Since green beer first appeared on store shelves in the 1990s, the selection has exploded with varieties ranging from smooth pale ales to dark, chocolaty stouts. Green beer is now being produced all over the world — so, more often than not, you can find one that’s local, too.
What exactly makes a beer green? Any beer that’s either made with organic ingredients, brewed using environmentally friendly processes or both fits the bill. To qualify as organic, ingredients must be free of chemical pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers and genetically modified organisms. The popularity of organic beers has had the benefit of allowing American farmers to begin growing more organic hops, supporting small family farms that have long been squeezed by their bigger competitors.