If you’re happy quaffing either, choose the drink that’s best for your health and lightest on the planet. Whichever you prefer, enjoy it in moderation.

Beer or wine? The answer might intoxicate you.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Organic wine or organic beer? Aside from the obvious distinction of personal preference, one of these can actually benefit your health and the planet. So which should you opt for when cooling off at the end of a hot summer day?

This: Organic Beer

Pros: Beer benefits your health. A 2004 study at Tufts University found that beer protects bone density, and an animal study done at the University of Wisconsin found that dark beer may help ward off heart disease, thanks to phytochemicals called flavenoids (also found in red wine). Because it’s easy to brew beer in small quantities, nearly every town has a local brewery (although not all brew organic beer), which allows you to cut down on greenhouse-gas emissions related to shipping.

Cons: Even if you find organic beer brewed locally, chances are the ingredients were flown halfway across the country (or the world). Hops, the components of beer that carry much of the flavor, are nearly impossible to grow organically in the United States, so many brewers import organic hops from New Zealand. However, brewers can get away with using nonorganic hops and count them against the 5 percent of ingredients that don’t need to be certified organic (organic food products need to be 95 percent organic ingredients to bear the USDA Organic seal). Purists will argue that beer isn’t truly organic if the hops aren’t.

That: Organic Wine

Pros: Vineyards are like breweries: Every state seems to have one, so finding local wine isn’t very difficult. Organic vineyards are less common, but organic wine is still easier to find than organic beer. And the health benefits seem undisputed, provided you stick with no more than two glasses per day. Earlier this year, the British Medical Journal published a study finding that red wine, along with olive oil and fresh produce, was one of the components of the Mediterranean diet that led to increased longevity.

Cons: The sulfites in red wine can trigger asthma attacks in people who are sensitive to them, and wine contains tannins, compounds that can trigger headaches and add to hangover pain from drinking too much. Wine also isn’t that much lighter than beer when it comes to calories. A standard five-ounce glass can have about 100 calories, which is roughly the same as a light beer.

This or That?

This. Go with organic beer. Beer isn’t the world’s oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic beverage for nothing. For one thing, it doesn’t contain sulfites or tannins, making it easier for people to tolerate than wine, and it competes pretty evenly with wine in terms of health. In addition to protecting against bone loss and heart disease, a mouse study from Spain suggests that it may ward off Alzheimer’s disease. Just drink it in moderation: Drinking more than two glasses a day counteracts all the positive health benefits, and beer can have as many as 300 calories per serving, depending on the kind you’re drinking. Choosing organic beer that wasn’t brewed locally is still a good move for the environment, since organic growing methods keep carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. To be uber-green, buy it in refillable kegs to cut down on packaging. That’s right—installing a bar and tap in your basement will be good for the planet.

Find a full list of organic beers by visiting the website of the North American Organic Brewers Festival.