It has become a welcome tradition for drinkers at the Anchor’s Organic Beer Festival to enjoy food from Birmingham Friends of the Earth’s Organic barbeque and they won’t be disappointed this year as it’ll be running again on Friday 23rd July from 7pm.
Trend-setting pub, The Anchor, on Rea Street, Digbeth, held the first organic beer festival in the UK and now the annual event is firmly established on the Midlands beer festival calendar.
Organic meat and vegetarian burgers and sausages will be on offer in the pub’s beer garden at credit-crunch-busting prices with burgers supplied by Rossiter’s Family Butchers in Selly Oak and rolls and buns supplied by local community baker and food guru Tom Baker(1).
An organic barbeque is a great way for Birmingham Friends of the Earth to showcase the advantages of planet-friendly farming and the group will be looking for people to join their “MOOvement”, asking you to put your hoof down for rainforest-free meat and dairy. The issue is the hidden chain linking animal feed in British factory farms to wildlife and rainforest destruction in South America. This autumn, MPs will be voting on a new law to fix the food chain and with your help Friends of the Earth want to make sure they support UK farmers to feed their animals a home-grown diet that doesn’t cost the planet.
The bill was introduced by Robert Flello, MP for Stoke-on-Trent South, and will be going through parliament later this year after intense work by FoE groups all over the country. This will revolutionise the farming system so that its impacts are reduced and instead support a thriving and sustainable sector in the UK. Solutions include a focus on organic farming, which builds up soil fertility and locks up soil carbon – providing benefits both to the climate and local wildlife. Ask your MP today to back the bill by signing a parliamentary petition, Early Day Motion (EDM) 367.
Gerry Keane of The Anchor, said:
“The popularity of the Organic Festival ensures that it remains a highlight of our annual events, which goes to show there is a growing demand for Organic beers, even though it is difficult to access some of the ingredients. We are delighted that Friends of the Earth are supporting us by providing an Organic BBQ on the Friday evening”.
The Anchor, dating back over 200 years, is a popular real ale pub in Birmingham and is the four times winner of the Camra Pub of the Year for Birmingham.
So why drink organic beer?
If you look at the average pint of beer served up in the UK, it’s not so perfect. The hops used in the fermentation of beer are estimated to be sprayed up to 14 times each year with around 15 different pesticide products. In addition to this, countless additives are added to create the ‘perfect pint’, ensuring that it has a nice colour and flavour, a decent head and a profitable shelf life.
A big problem with this is that according to European legislation these additives, along with the other ingredients, do not need to be declared on the label unless the drink contains less 1.2% alcohol. Basically your pint has been chemically altered and you don’t know what you’re drinking. (2)
In contrast, organic beer is made in small batches from only organically grown barley, malt, wheat, hops, yeast and spring water. There are neither additives nor genetically-modified ingredients; everything grows as nature intended, giving a purer, more wholesome taste.
So please come and support Birmingham Friends of the Earth on the 23rd July for the Organic Barbeque and the Organic Beer Festival will run from 22nd-26th July.
1. http://www.loafonline.co.uk/
2. http://www.beerexpert.co.uk/organic-beer.html
3. Join the Movement at www.jointhemoovement.com which has more information on the fix the food chain campaign.
4. Anchor contact details: http://www.anchorinndigbeth.co.uk/ tel 0121 622 4516 email info@anchorinndigbeth.co.uk
