Dogfish Head Craft Brewery | Kernza Pils

Throughout the years, Dogfish Head has been a brewery about exploring the outer edges of what is possible within the world of craft beer. With one of its newest editions to its ever-evolving lineup, Kernza Pils is here to help restore the planet with every sip! Read More

Old Bust Head Brewing’s Sustainability Drive is Inspired by Daughter’s Mission

In Northern Virginia, resides Old Bust Head Brewing a 7,000 barrel producing brewery focused on making good beer and sustainability. Since its conception, owners Ike and Julie Broaddus envisioned their brewery to exemplify sustainability and make a richer community. When the brewery opened in 2014, they had already installed a geothermal system and renovated an old building.

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New Belgium Brewing Interview | Sustainability & Future Goals

Given the continued craziness of COVID-19 and its impacts on the craft beer industry, how are breweries’ sustainability goals progressing? Did breweries have to abandon these goals in 2021 or were they able to meet their objectives? To answer these questions, I recently interviewed two sustainability leaders in the craft brewing industry, Brewery Vivant and New Belgium Brewing.

Below is my interview with Katie Wallace, Director of Social and Environmental Impact at New Belgium Brewing. You can read the interview with Kris Spaulding, Owner and President of Brewery Vivant, here.

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Brewery Vivant Interview | Sustainability and Future Goals

During a year in which COVID-19 continues to affect all aspects of life, how are breweries sustainability goals progressing? To answer this question, I recently interviewed several sustainability leaders in the craft brewing industry. Over the next few weeks, I will share these conversations. My first interview is with Kris Spaulding, Owner and President of Brewery Vivant, which is located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Spaulding shared about the brewery’s progress over 2021 and what they hope to accomplish in 2022.

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New Belgium Brewing Interview | The Carbon Neutral Toolkit

One year after making Fat Tire the first certified carbon neutral beer in the United States, New Belgium Brewing is releasing a Carbon Neutral Toolkit, available on their website, DrinkSustainably.com. With the toolkit, breweries can educate themselves on climate change, learn what outputs they need to track and use the toolkit’s spreadsheet for recording. Additionally, in April, New Belgium released Torched Earth Ale, a beer made of ingredients they believed “would be available in a climate-ravage future.”

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Maine Beer Co. Prides Itself in Doing What’s Right

It’s easy to be a brewery that makes good beer. What’s harder is being a brewery that makes good beer and does the right thing. When brothers David and Daniel Kleban founded Maine Beer Company in 2009, they set out with a mission to do what’s right – no matter what. For themselves. Their staff. And the planet.

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Boys Are From Märzen Podcast | Rhiannon Hoeweler MadTree Brewing

In Episode 39 of the “Boys Are From Märzen” podcast, Kindsey Bernhard converses with Rhiannon Hoeweler, director of strategic impact at MadTree Brewing in Cincinnati, for a special Earth Day episode.

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New Solar Canopy Will Provide 60% of Lawson’s Finest’s Power Needs

Earth Day isn’t just once a year celebration for Lawson’s Finest Liquids, it’s a 365-day celebration. Reducing their impact on the planet is a year-round effort for the Vermont brewery.

Lawson’s Finest latest effort includes the announcement of a 495-module solar parking canopy that will offset 50% of the brewery’s power usage. Lawson’s Finest has partnered with SunCommon, a solar energy solution to install the solar panels above the parking lot. The solar panels are fully permitted and plan to be completed this summer.

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MadTree Brewing’s Purpose is Rooted in Sustainability

By reading the name and looking at the logo, it is clear MadTree Brewing has a love for trees and the environment. Through this passion, the Cincinnati brewery has committed itself to being a sustainable and environmental-friendly brewery.

Since day one, MadTree has embraced its name and worked to celebrate and protect nature, while at the same time working to reduce its impact on the environment.

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Women in Beer | Apocalypse Brew Works

Apocalypse Brew Works in Louisville, Kentucky, has been preparing for the apocalypse since it first opened in 2012. The brewery’s name came about from a brainstorming session with co-founders Leah Dienes, Bill Krauth and Paul Grignon. All the good regional names had been taken and they were struggling for a name that would stand out. Seemingly out of nowhere, Krauth brought up “that end of the world thing.” “You mean, the apocalypse?” responded Dienes, who happened to have a label in her pocket she had designed for a humorous beer label competition at the Kentucky State Fair. She had made a zombie-themed label for a beer called Apocalypse Pale Ale. Realizing that it was prime fodder for coming up with all kinds of unique beer names, they decided they had a winner.

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5 Questions with Kevin McGee, Anderson Valley Brewing Co.

Now in its fourth decade, Anderson Valley Brewing Company (AVBC) is now owned by the McGee family, namely Kevin McGee, an attorney who previously opened the one-barrel, nano brewery called Healdsburg Beer Company (out of his garage). Although buying an “OG” craft brewery just in time for a global pandemic was not ideal, AVBC has managed to not only survive, but do well. It helps that AVBC beer remains in the hands of the well-respected, longtime brewmaster (and author) Fal Allen. Under his direction, the brewery continues to produce its famed Gose series, run a laudable barrel program and offer a slew of “regular” beers such as its Boont Amber Ale. The beer is produced in part with power from the sun, as roughly 40% of the brewery’s power is solar (and soon to be 100%). And why not? When you can look outside your brewery and view gorgeous scenery, you might feel inspired to protect the planet that provides it.

We wanted to know a bit more about Anderson Valley so we asked Kevin McGee, owner and CEO of AVBC, five questions about the brewery and its beer.

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Craft Breweries Continue Commitment to Sustainability, Solar Energy

Sustainability is an integral part of the corporate talktrack these days, with big and small corporations alike sharing their commitment to sustainable business practices and production habits. The craft beer industry is an area of the market that has always tilted towards sustainability, as brewers big and small continue to reap the benefits of growing and using ingredients and energy produced on their premises. Revolution Brewing’s savory Honey Jacket Barleywine uses honey harvested from bees that reside on the roof of their production facility. Some go as far as producing their own energy via solar panels. Brewery Vivant’s solar program, which includes a 54-kilowatt solar system and 192 solar panels, produces 20% of the facility’s energy needs. 

With commitments to sustainability and renewable, clean energy sources becoming a bigger and bigger area of focus for craft breweries, here’s a look at three new pledges from big name breweries that signal craft beer’s ongoing commitment to existing constantly while leaving the world a better place than they left it. 

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Dogfish Head and Indigo Agriculture Fight Climate Change with Re-Gen-Ale

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery is on a mission to fight climate change, one beer at a time. On September 19, Dogfish Head and Indigo Agriculture, a company intent on “harnessing nature to help farmers sustainably feed the planet,” released an Earth-friendly Re-Gen-Ale to its local beer fans. As explained by Dogfish Head, the beer serves as the first traceably-sourced beer to address climate change through agriculture using Indigo Carbon, a program that provides growers with a financial incentive to store carbon in their soils.” The beer release arrives in time for Climate Week (Sept 21 – 27).

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Celebrating Eco-Friendly Practices of Craft Breweries For Earth Day

Happy Earth Day! In fact, this year marks the 50^th year of celebrating Earth Day. Even though social distancing has kept us apart, many digital Earth Day events exist all over the world to educate and inspire action.

In the craft brewery world, breweries are also doing their part to be more eco-friendly. Several breweries run on solar power. Many breweries partner with farms to send their spent grain for animal feed. Others invest in expensive equipment that can be more efficient to use less energy and water.

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5 (Okay, 6) Questions with West Sixth Brewing’s Kelly Hieronymus & Ben Self

Lexington, Kentucky’s West Sixth Brewing (named brilliantly for the street corner on which it resides) started as a humble little brewery back in 2012 when Kentucky was barely a blip on the craft brewing radar. At the time, Kentucky had only 14 breweries and ranked near the bottom of the Brewer’s Association 2012 list of US breweries per capita at 43.

Craft brewing in Kentucky has exploded since then, with West Sixth being particularly successful, albeit through an unconventional definition of success. Their focus on community, sustainability, ethics and keeping things local has served them well. To learn more about why this model has worked for them and to get their thoughts on the future of the industry as a whole, we posed five (okay, six) questions to West Sixth’s Creative Director, Kelly Hieronymus, and co-founder Ben Self.

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Taking a Look at the Craft Beer Industry’s Eco-Friendly Earth Day Initiatives

A very merry almost Earth Day to you, my fellow earthlings! I hope you are enjoying your day on this lovely planet by reading this article with a beer in your hand. While you do that, be sure to recognize all the different resources it takes to make that craft beer you are holding. Everything that you see in the brew, as well as the device containing that beer, comes from a vast number of components and people to make it happen. With this special relationship between us and Earth, being eco-friendly is very important. Read More

New Belgium Brewery’s 99.9% Zero Waste Business

The US Zero Waste Business Council (USZWBC) recently awarded its highest level of certification, Platinum, to New Belgium Brewery Company’s Fort Collins facility for its waste reduction efforts. Most noteworthy, … Read More

Sierra Nevada’s Super Eco-Friendly Brewery

All breweries strive to be the best, but no brewery may have a more eco-friendly facility than Sierra Nevada’s brewery in Mills River, North Carolina. The eastern US location, which … Read More

Sustainability on the New Breckenridge Brewery Campus

Resources are finite. Protecting future materials is imperative. Sustainability is integral to successful business.

These are lessons I consistently hear from business leaders in all industries, including craft beer. The brewing industry is consistently innovative and creative with its sustainability initiatives to ensure water, energy, and raw materials are obtainable for the future.

In June, Breckenridge Brewery opened its new twelve-acre campus in Littleton, Colorado, after being headquartered on Kalamath St. in Denver for 20 years. The new facility allows the brewery to increase production for future growth. Read More