Brewers Use Green Thinking to Help Create Eco-Friendly Beers

Sure, we've all heard of the pubs selling green beer on St. Patty's day. But let's look at what happens when we take a deeper look at what the term "Green Beer" can mean. The word green has long been used as an identifier for eco-friendly products.

Eco-Friendly Beer
In many cases, the term is used to "spin" a company's images in a better direction. But for many people, green is more than a marketing strategy. It is a way to help make the world a better place by making one's products in a more sustainable way - a way that does not unnecessarily harm the environment or specific ecosystems. It is a mode of thinking about production that takes into account the long-term costs of environmental damage and weighs it against short-term profit. In today's beer market, there is a great opportunity for brewers who use the "out of the box" thinking that green companies are known for. The new ideas being brought forth are making real innovations in brewing.

Probably the best initial return on thinking green when it comes to beer is the use of organic ingredients. Organic beer tends to taste better, in my experience, and that of many beer fans. Organic ingredients are those that are grown without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers. The result is a healthier plant, a plant that has adapted to its environment instead of being "helped along" by artificial means. Best of all, the plant isn't coated in the poisons that are INTENDED to kill only bugs.

Deschutes Brewery is venturing into the organic beer market, with their release last Christmas time of Green Lakes Organic Ale. Going organic is more than a way to add a green tag onto you beer. Organic beer supports organic farmers facing dire threats of extinction from big Agri-business. "We have always been committed to sustainability and see this new beer as a natural extension of our interest in doing things the best way possible," said Gary Fish, Deschutes Brewery's founder. The use of organic ingredients certainly is a more sustainable path. Organic farming requires a deep connection with the soil and how it matures over the years. In an world with an ever increasing population, it is a far wiser strategy to heal the soil naturally, and with crop rotation and composting, than it is to slash and burn forests which provide much needed CO2 to Oxygen exchanges for the whole planet.

Renewable Energy
In addition to the recently flourishing organic beer market, more and more breweries are looking at green beer thinking to help regulate their energy bill. Thinking green means thinking energy efficient. The more efficiently energy is used in production, the greener that beer is going to be - this minimizes the "carbon footprint" of the beer's production. Solar heating, photovoltaic electric systems, and well built and insulated kettles are all aspects of this. And best of all, many of the brewers utilizing these techniques are gaining publicity for themselves and more clientele.

Lucky Labrador Brewing Company of Portland, Oregon is one brewery that is using sun power to produce beer. After their Hawthorne brewery was up and running with solar hot water, Lucky Labrador also installed a similar system in their Quimby brewery. The energy saving over the next few years will likely offset the cost of installing and maintaining the solar system, as heating water is the majority of the energy expenditure for brewers. Lucky Labrador has even named a new beer after their solar hot water system, which heats water up to 180 degrees: the Solar Flare Ale - made with the power of the Sun.

Solar isn't the only alternative power source used by breweries. According to Wired magazine, Brooklyn Brewery, located on Brewer's Row in Brooklyn, New York, is also harnessing the raw powers of nature to fuel their beer production - but they are using the wind. Wind power exclusively fuels the beer producer's energy needs. By a special contract with the energy company that services them, they are able to choose where their money goes - and they buy all of their energy from a wind farm located in upstate New York, Madison County.

The brewery's energy bill is slightly more for this -10 to 13 percent more- but founder Steve Hindy says it is all worth it:

"It's the right thing to do, and not too many years down the road it will be a common choice," said Steve. "If you are going to be in business, it's good to have principles."

At 1,658,000 gallons of beer per year, I guess he knows what he's talking about!

New Belgium Brewery of Fort Collins, CO, is another company with an eye for renewable energy. Roughly 70% of New Belgium's operations are powered by the wind. But 30% comes from a unique form of biodegradable recycling. Grains are taken, after the brewing process, and given to a certain strain of bacteria for consumption. As a result of this, methane gas is produced and piped out to be used as fuel for generators! That's a mean recycling program! It did cost about $5 million to set up the system.

"It's a gratifying way to use money, to try and push the envelope and the practice of alternative energy," said Kim Jordan, CEO of New Belgium. "It's our goal to completely close that loop, so all our energy use comes from our own waste stream."

Flat Panel Kegerators
It is not only microbrewers and craft brewers that can benefit from new advances in "green" beer and more energy efficient technologies. Soon, we may be seeing "green" kegerators that run without compression units and Freon, but that are cooled with magnetic fields. New research in the field of refrigeration technology at Pennsylvania State University, and supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, is discovering this right now.

According to Penn State LIVE!, the official news source for the University: "This is the first step in the development of an electric field refrigeration unit," explained Professor Qiming Zhang. "For the future, we can envision a flat panel refrigerator. No more coils, no more compressors, just solid polymer with appropriate heat exchangers." Can you imagine a flat panel kegerator? Sounds like some space savings behind the home bar to me. It will likely be many years before we see this item hit the market, but the results of new energy research are always something to look forward to.

All of these ideas reflect progress in leaps and bounds toward green beer and an ecological mindset. It is interesting to see that brewers, of all people, are especially interested in making a concerted effort to save the planet. If all beer drinkers catch onto this notion of green beer and put it to use in their own lives, this planet just might have some hope yet.