'Organic' is a largely meaningless marketing term; it certainly doesn't imply 'produced without the use of pesticides or fertilisers', as most produce marketed as 'organic' is produced using plenty of pesticides and fertilisers.
Every single ingredient in ANY wine (or beer, or spirit) is a chemical - including the water.
There's no problem in trying to make wine or beer the 'old fashioned' way, using the minimum possible number of ingredients; I make most of my beer that way. But don't kid yourself - the ethanol in wine ('organic' or not) is by several orders of magnitude the most toxic component present, and is a known carcinogen. Any other chemicals that are present in a remotely drinkable final product are completely harmless in comparison.
Good to know, and as I would suspect.
You are a beer maker and I am guessing you have crossed a few hurdles. Anything stand out as worth passing along?
It's really not rocket science; People have been brewing since the invention of agriculture, and making a passable beer is do-able for almost anyone.
To make a really good beer, I would suggest that the three key elements are temperature control, patience, and cleanliness. (And obviously high quality ingredients, which should go without saying).
Cool the boiled wort as fast as possible once the boil has finished; and ensure that fermentation takes place as close as possible to the optimum temperature for your yeast (in my experience, the bottom of the advertised temperature range from the yeast supplier is better than the middle in terms of the final flavour, but it is also slower).
Colder temperatures mean lower rates of fermentation, so don't be in a hurry - let the fermentation complete, and use a hygrometer to confirm that it has, before bottling or kegging - if there's still a lot of activity, bottles can become bombs; But even if there's only a little attenuation still to go, the CO
2 bubbles can help break up the trub and hold it in suspension, leading to cloudy beer (or excessive sediment in the bottle). Don't be in a hurry to drink the beer once it's bottled/kegged either - a few weeks of maturing can make a big difference to quality. If temperatures fall below the target range, your total fermenting time can increase very significantly; Too high a temperature can easily ruin the final result, so erring on the side of too cold is better than the opposite. If the temperature goes close to freezing, then the yeast may die and need to be re-pitched after the temperature comes back up. Avoid large changes in temperature during primary fermentation. Always keep beer (during and after fermenting) in a dark place, and avoid even indirect exposure to bright light.
Sterilize
everything that will come in contact with your beer post-boil. Simply immersing everything in boiling water for five minutes will do the job (although a no-rinse sterilizer like Star San is more convenient) - but it must be clean before sterilizing, or bugs will shelter in the dirt. Clean everything immediately AFTER use; Sterilize everything immediately BEFORE use.
