One of the fastest growing segments of the organic food sector over the last few years has been (drum roll) - organic beer!  That’s right, you heard me, organic beer is on the rise in the United States and some of the biggest players in the beer industry are jumping on board.  In 2005 sales of organic beer grew 40%, tying beer with organically grown coffee as the fastest growing organic beverage.  In fact, since 2003 organic beer sales have more than doubled.  This rapid growth in sales caught the attention of beer giant Anheuser-Busch.

Anheuser-Busch recently released two organic beers (Wild Hop and Stone Mill) with great success.  Neither beer, however, bears the Budweiser name; a move that Anheuser-Busch hopes will separate their smaller organic-niche beers from their best-selling Budweiser line of beers.  Anheuser-Busch’s jump into the organic beer niche market has raised eyebrows. The move is cause for concern for many organic food producers.  Some worry that Anheuser-Busch will pressure the U.S. government into lowering the standards for organic food.  Still others argue the nation’s most popular brewery will crush competition coming from smaller breweries producing only organic brews.

Other members of the organic food world are thrilled by Anheuser-Busch’s entry into the organic beer sector.  They feel Anheuser-Busch’s new beers will bring a broader acceptance to what they feel is a great new addition to the beer world.  Because of Anheuser-Busch’s distribution power, their line of organic beers should start springing up in markets across the country.  Organic food producers hope this will incite more people to start purchasing organic products.

The way I see it, if it’s a Budweiser it’s going to be good.  The fact that I can start picking up Anheuser-Busch products at Whole Foods and other organic markets is a good thing.  Who knows, with Anheuser-Busch driving this new market it might just turn out to be the next big thing in beer.  On the other hand, Bud Ice sounded like a pretty good idea at the time too.