The press release below was recently forwarded to me by the Midest Regional Manager for Merchant du Vin. The product is now available in all MdV warehouses.

Merchant du Vin and Pinkus Brewery (Munster, Germany; est. 1816) are pleased to announce that a new Certified Organic dark lager will be available in the US soon: Pinkus Jubilate.

Merchant du Vin holds exclusive import rights to many of the world’s greatest beers, including several Trappists. If your local retailers and bars do not carry any of the beers imported by Merchant du Vin, I highly recommend that you ask them  to start. A list of Merchant du Vin distributors can be found by clicking HERE.

ABOUT MERCHANT DU VIN

Merchant du Vin sets the strictest standards for the beers that bear our importing label. All Merchant du Vin beers are “authentic”—meaning they are naturally made, without chemicals, additives, or preservatives (sometimes referred to as “adjuncts”). Secondly, the beer must be an outstanding representative of its style, and produced by a brewery of superb reputation. As a result of these standards, Merchant du Vin’s benchmark breweries appear on nearly every list of the top beers in the world.

The Beer Wench has made a rather exciting beer discovery.

I would like you to meet Chris O’Brian, author of the Beer Activist blog and book entitled “Fermenting Revolution: How To Drink Beer And Save The World.”

About the author:

Professionally, O’Brien has dedicated his time to organizing businesses as a force for positive social and environmental change. He spent seven years directing the Co-op America Business Network and the Fair Trade Federation. In 2005, he joined the Center for a New American Dream where he is now Director of the Responsible Purchasing Network.

In between these positions, Chris spent two years fully dedicated to beer. based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, he travelled much of Africa, investigating traditional brewing styles, while reading and writing about beer and sustainability. He even put in a short stint as a professional brewer at the Zululand Brewing Co. in Eshowe, South Africa.

In 2004, he started publishing Fermenting Revolution as an online brewsletter. Use the sign up form for a free subscription. He has since become a regular feature writer for Zymurgy and New Brewer magazines, writes a column in American Brewer called Brewing a Better World, and regularly speaks at conferences and festivals.

O’Brien is part owner and a board director of Seven Bridges, a brick and mortar store in Santa Cruz, CA, and online retailer (www.breworganic.com) of organic homebrew supplies, as well as organic, fair trade home coffee roasting supplies.

Chris loves to hear from readers, so feel free to contact him with comments, beer news, or planet saving suggestions.

As both an advocate for beer and the environment, The Beer Wench is very impressed by Chris O’Brian. The book looks extremely interesting and I have already placed an order for it. I look forward to reviewing it in the future. Here is the book description:

Peak Organic Brewing, a small organic brewing company located in Portland, ME, has collaborated with local farmers and like-minded small businesses to create a delicious Maple Oat Ale. The Maple Oat Ale marks Peak’s first seasonal brew. “Peak Organic beers were created as a toast to life’s peak experiences. Whether it’s a spectacular afternoon in the outdoors, a good time with friends and family, or a great day on the job – Peak Organic Brewing hopes you have the opportunity to celebrate the peak experiences of your life.”

The Maple Oat Ale is brewed with Maine-grown organic oats from granola company GrandyOats and Vermont-produced organic maple syrup from Butternut Mountain Farms in Morrisville, Vermont. The beer is in support of Chefs Collaborative, the nation’s leading culinary organization that provides its members with tools for running economically healthy, sustainable food service businesses.

They started working on the recipe last fall and bottled the first production batch in the last week of February. The equivalent of 48,000, 12-ounce bottles have been distributed in stores in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.

The following is an excerpt written by a columnist for the Portland Press Herald – Maine Sunday Telegram:

And on a global level, it’s a case of how even small companies can look at their own practices and attempt to make progress on global problems, according to John Cadoux, Peak’s founder.

Cadoux said while consumers are often passionate about buying local brews, the ingredients in those beverages often have to be sourced globally. When Peak started to look at its supply chain, it realized it was creating a huge carbon footprint as it shipped in organic ingredients from around the world.

So Peak looked at its recipes to find organics ingredients it could get within 150 miles. When the company was first formed in 2006, its represenatives met with some other local companies that were working on environmental sustainability, including GrandyOats.

As the company started thinking more about its footprint, Cadoux said, it decided to go with a seasonal that would use local ingredients. The result was the maple oat.

The brew has used 1,250 pounds of Maine oats to date.

Things The Wench loves:

Beer – particularly ales (check)

100% pure all-natural Vermont Maple Syrup (check)

Oats – especially oatmeal cookies (check)

Organic, green and sustainable products (check)

Conscientious Breweries seeking to reduce carbon footprint (check)

Peak Brewing Company’s Maple Oat Ale sounds like an absolute dream. Unfortunately, it is not yet offered in Ohio. In the spirit of the company’s dedication to sustainability and reducing carbon footprint, it would only be appropriate for me to travel to the Brewery to enjoy this ale. (Although my traveling probably has a greater carbon impact than having it shipped here.) Lucky for me, my best friend from high school currently resides with her new husband in Portland, ME. Whether I visit her or have her ship it here, I will taste this beer!!! And that is a promise!!!

About Peak Organic Brewing Company

We are a small brewing company dedicated to making delicious beer using the world’s best ingredients. We believe that using barley and hops that are grown without toxic and persistent pesticides and chemical fertilizers makes our beer tastier and more enjoyable, both for you and for the planet.

The ingredients in our delicious beers are made without toxic and persistent pesticides and chemical fertilizers. These substances can cause soil degradation and chemical runoff that contaminates water sources and, hence, the ecosystems that they support.

We think that healthier soil grows tastier barley and hops. By supporting organic agriculture, we believe that we can make the most delicious beer possible and feel good about the positive environmental contribution we are making.

About Chefs Collaborative

Founded in 1993, Chefs Collaborative is the leading culinary organization that provides its members with tools for running economically healthy, sustainable food service businesses.

Chefs Collaborative works with chefs and the greater food community to celebrate local foods and foster a more sustainable food supply. The Collaborative inspires action by translating information about our food into tools for making knowledgeable purchasing decisions. Through these actions, our members embrace seasonality, preserve diversity and traditional practices, and support local economies.

About Grandy Oats

Beneath the foothills of New England’s White Mountains, in a one hundred-year-old restored dairy barn, we make all of our bulk and packaged granolas, roasted nuts, and trail mixes by hand, in small batches, and using only the finest organic ingredients.

GrandyOats has been making granola here in Maine since 1979. While we have grown tremendously since our inception, nothing about the soul of the company has changed. We are still a family of friends committed to quality living and environmentally and socially friendly, sustainable business practices.

About Butternut Mountain Farms

Butternut Mountain Farm has been producing and packaging pure maple syrup for over 30 years. Our attention to quality and detail, our service and our size, have gained us recognition as one of the leading companies in the maple industry. Maple syrup in all sizes, granulated maple sugar, maple sugar candies, maple mustards, maple barbecue sauce, pancake mixes, maple butter, maple popcorn, maple pepper, liquid and crystallized honey and other related products.