The US brewing scene today is booming with amazing and inventive new brewers. Some have pledged to keep the environment in mind...a few that I know of include: 1) New Belgium (CO) - From giving new employees a bicycle to using wind-powered electricity, they're among the leaders in good beer AND good environmental practice. 2) Sixpoint (NY) - Fantastic beer available on tap only (much lower packaging/shipping costs), also installing rooftop solar panels at brewery. 3) Lakefront (WI) - Donates approximately 15,000 lbs/week of spent grain to a non-profit organization that turns the grain into supersoil to help farmers. They were also the first certified organic brewery in the country. What are some others that people know of? I feel pretty well-versed in this topic when it comes to big breweries or local Wisconsin breweries. I would love to hear of others around the US so I can be on the look out for their products in my local liquor store.
The Eco-friendliest thing to do would be consume the grain as food instead of making it into booze... Using "Six row" barley is not so bad as it's not really very edible to humans, only cattle. There was a law (Reinheitsgebot) against brewing with oats, wheat, rye and dinkel put forth in Bavaria in 1516. It specified only three ingredients – water, hops, and barley malt – omitting yeast. That probably indicates that brewers of the day were using spontaneous fermentation with wild yeasts...Barley was the only cereal grain allowed for brewing beer. The main reason for the law was to assure that valuable bread cereals would not be used for beer brewing. ZW
Good God, man. Let's be rational here. Yes, but don't go thinking the crazy Germans were concerned solely about Mother Earth. Rather, the royalty in charge at the time were worried about their favorite grains being used for brewing.
Thanks for the response. I do believe I've had something from Mendocino: Red Hawk or Red Tail? There's definitely a red-tailed hawk on the label. Good stuff though, if I remember right. Cheers man.
