Frosty Goodness

More Goodness From the Freddy’s Fridge

Freddy's Point Two Selection... or so I thought.

This weekend I stopped by my local Fred Meyer’s and was once again blown away by the beer selection added with the new remodel. The selection is vast and varied and this day I discovered an entirely new section (to me at least).

I selected an Alameda Brewing Klickitat Pale Ale and satisfied with my choice wandered down the isle toward the checkout counter. I glanced over at what I thought was the imported section. I’m not really an import kind of guy, although I do have a fondness for Trapist Monk-brewed Tripels. I think Heineken and Amstel soured me at an early age.

However, upon closer inspection I discovered that the section was entirely devoted to organic beers! Actually, I’m not really an Organic beer fan either but only because of a couple bad apples in the bunch. This isn’t one or two organic beers. About a hundred beers from about 40 different breweries both domestic and imported make up this section. I ran my Alameda Pale back down to the other section, pledged to come back and try it someday and made my way back to the organic section.

There were many choices but I decided to stay away from the mainstream. I’ve never had good luck with organic brews. Deschute’s Green Lakes, Mothership Wit from New Belgium (tastes the same as all their other beers… surprise!), and even a Fish Tail Organic Cask Conditioned IPA always seem to under deliver. It is almost as if the focus on removing all things non-organic leaves you with a beer that is missing something. Maybe a little fertilizer in my beer adds to the finish.

A friend had mentioned Hopworks the other night and the design of the bottle (I am a sucker for well-designed packaging) caught my eye. The interesting thing I noted is that all of Hopworks’ beers are organic. Maybe they would deliver where others failed because they were totally devoted to being organic.

I chose the Crosstown Pale Ale  and headed home a little nervous about my choice. I hope I would not regret putting the Alameda back. Crosstown did not disappoint. This wasn’t some candy-assed, watered down hippie beer. It was BEER. It just happened to be organic. Between Deschutes and Full Sail make up the majority of the beer I consume and every once and a while something special comes along and lets me know what I am missing. Crosstown didn’t mess around. Balanced, complex, and full of the hoppy goodness I expect from a Pale.

In the end, I didn’t feel like I had done something good for the earth, but I did feel like I had enjoyed something special. I might have to make this a series on Hopworks and I will definitely make it down to the brew pub.