Ask before you drink: These 6 questions can determine whether a brewery is green enough

It’s no secret that Charlotte has developed into a national beer city. The Queen City has developed a reputation as a hotspot for new brewery development and brewery expansion projects, and a city that creates some of the world’s best beers.

Charlotte’s beer scene has become a point of pride for many Charlotteans, including those who defend the city’s reputation to out-of-towners, involve themselves in the brewing community, and identify Charlotte as world-class beer city.

But all is not perfect in the brewing world – far from it, in fact. Many beer-drinkers are unaware of the tremendous impact that a brewery can have on communities, economies and the environment. For instance, did you know that to brew a single barrel of beer, the average brewery needs to use over 200 gallons of water? Or were you aware that the average North Carolina brewery uses enough energy annually to power over 25 homes? Breweries have the potential to affect the environment in significant ways, but consumers rarely stop to think: “Is this brewery sustainable?”

Sustainability is a hot topic nowadays, but is often misunderstood. Sustainability is not just about reducing the amount of water you use, using less energy and recycling materials. Sustainability is a holistic term that’s concerned with all aspects of a business’ practices, including the business’ environmental, social, cultural and community impacts, as well as their economic viability. A sustainable brewery is one that commits to these ideals and prioritizes taking action to have the most positive impact possible; a green brewery commits itself to minimizing its environmental impact.

So what environmental challenges do breweries face and what are our beloved Charlotte breweries doing right? And what can they be doing better?

 “Craft brewing is a water intensive and ingredient intensive business,” says Brittany Smith, Legion Brewing Company’s Marketing and Event Coordinator.

And she’s not kidding: compared to macro-breweries, a craft brewery can use up to ten times more ingredients to produce the same amount of beer, according to Smith. Perhaps surprisingly, the actual consumption of water or ingredients is not the biggest environmental impact of craft brewing.

The hops, malts, yeast, and specialty ingredients needed to concoct Charlotte’s delicious craft beers need to come from somewhere – and those ingredients need to be cultivated and shipped to the Queen City.

“There are a limited number of local ingredients that can be used,” says Tara Goulet, Co-Founder of Birdsong Brewing Company, making it difficult to source a completely local craft beer.

What are breweries in Charlotte doing to minimize their environmental impact? Recently, Birdsong Brewing installed a solar-array on its rooftop to power its brewing operations; the Olde Mecklenburg Brewery now offers PET bottles in lieu of its glass bottles in certain venues (more details here); Legion Brewing sources local malt, hops and produce from local farms; and Free Range Brewing has established long-term partnerships with local farmers to both source ingredients and upcycle organic byproducts of the brewing process.

However, not all breweries are so clearly green.

How can you, a beer-lover-tree-hugger hybrid, differentiate between breweries that are committed to environmental sustainability from others that might be guilty of greenwashing (exaggerating or misleading their sustainable practices/investment) or outright unconcerned with environmental sustainability?

All the breweries who responded to my questions had the same answer: ask questions at the brewery.

Sustainability is predicated on education. For a green brewery, this means the business should not only understand their environmental impact and take action to mitigate those effects (where possible), but also educate its staff on the challenges and efforts the brewery is taking. For the breweries that are wholly committed to environmental sustainability, being green is part of their identity and its employees will recognize and speak truth to that commitment.

What questions should you ask? Below is a list of five questions that will help you decide for yourself whether the brewery is committed to environmental responsibility:

1. Where does the brewery source its ingredients from?
2. If they don’t know, it isn’t a great sign. Additionally, if they say “North Carolina” or “local farms,” be sure to follow up and ask which farms and what ingredients are sourced.
3. Does the brewery have any partnerships with local farms to either source ingredients or upcycle organic byproducts?
4. Does the brewery participate in the Bicycle Benefits Program or another ride-sharing, carpooling, or public transportation program?
5. Does the brewery support any environmental non-profits, charities or organizations?
6. What efforts has the brewery taken to be more environmentally sustainable?

As a former environmental scientist, supporting businesses that are committed to environmental stewardship is important to me and, as a beer-lover, so too is enjoying a properly crafted pint. Luckily, Charlotte has (at least a handful of) breweries that are deeply committed to mitigating their environmental impact while brewing delicious drinks – and that’s where you’ll find me.

Photo: CharlotteFive files

This story was originally published June 3, 2018 at 11:39 PM with the headline "Ask before you drink: These 6 questions can determine whether a brewery is green enough."