Instead of throwing away a bruised peach or a stale loaf of bread, several breweries and organizations are taking food waste and transforming it into beer.
Although many breweries prioritize sustainability, less than a dozen have achieved the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification.
Mikkeller beer to help refugee children; San Francisco Brewers Guild offers free shuttle service; brewing luminaries to teach at Vermont’s Sterling College; and MillerCoors Breweries reach landfill-free status.
Droughts force California brewers to reevaluate water sources; Southeastern politicians seek to reinforce three-tier system; Shanghai beer festival spotlights China’s growing craft scene; and Cigar City’s Joey Redner on Hunahpu’s snafu.
Massachusetts distribution laws reconsidered; Breckenridge Brewery selects Littleton, Colo., AB-InBev modifies Grupo Modelo deal to appease US Department of Justice; Alaskan using spent grain as fuel source; and Pennsylvania governor outlines plans to privatize state’s liquor control board.
Rather than starting from scratch in a warehouse space on the edge of town, co-owners Jason Spaulding and his wife, Kris, repurposed the early-1900s funeral home chapel and livery stables to house their small, niche brewery in the East Hills neighborhood of Grand Rapids, Mich.
Better beer was born “outside the box,” and continues to evolve removed from the mainstream today. The result has been an industry of rebels and renegades who defy classification, like David Anderson, who is quietly making curious and interesting beers at Dave’s BrewFarm in Wilson, Wis.
A reduction in the impact on the environment and savings in the cost of cleaning tap lines sounds like a positive step. But the value of being assured of having good-tasting, fresh beer in the glass? That’s priceless.
Christian Ettinger founded Hopworks Urban Brewery on the idea that radical sustainability should be commonplace. The organic, Portland, Ore., brewpub has taken environmentalism further than any brewpub in the country.
On water alone, brewers use roughly 20 gallons for every pint of beer in your fridge. Toss in electricity, fuel for heating, sewage-effluent loads and the masses of spent malt, and you can see why sizable breweries are looking to cut back.
Sierra Nevada helps create fuel from yeast; Bill Brand passes away; BEER act arrives; Molson creates mega mural for Olympic Games; Oregon tax law; Debate still brewing over Alabama’s beer laws.
Dave’s beer turning green; Utah man can restore landmark beer billboard; resale of stolen kegs outlawed in N.D.; and Brewery Ommegang’s commemorative ale stripped of its presidential title.
Cascade launches a renewable brew; US craft brewers grow; Miller dabbles in “lite” craft beers; Vermont rethinks drinking age; Bud Light Lime is born; and “Hop Obama” could divide versus unite.
