Friday, May 1, 2009

Doing my part - Green Beer

No, this isn't about beer on St. Patty's day. I recently started home brewing beer with a friend of mine. I never really thought about the green side of it until today, when I received the following in an email newsletter I get:

This may not have occurred to you, but as a homebrewer, you are playing a sizeable role in protecting the environment. That's right. Belive it or not, homebrewing and the environmental movement are quite compatible. For one thing, brewing your own beer cuts down significantly on the wasteful packaging associated with store-bought beer. It also saves fuel and curbs pollution yielded by long distance transport of beer. Furthermore, as your own brewmaster, you have the option to choose healthier, eco-friendly brewing ingredients.

By brewing your own beer, you are saving the transportation miles involved in shipping those store-bought beers all over the place - from warehouses and distribution centers to grocery stores - then to your home and back to the recycling center. Beer is heavy and is transported across the country and around the world on a regular basis. If you make it at home, it is transported from the fridge to your hand - not much of a carbon footprint there!

When it comes to packaging, homebrewers can collect glass beer bottles at home and from friends, or even pick up a few at the recycling center, sterilize them and reuse them over and over, getting much more than just one use from them before they are recycled.

If you really get into sustainable beer brewing, you can grow your own hops and other ingredients needed to produce your beer, making it even more environmentally friendly since the ingredients are being produced right there at home. There is also a fantastic sense of pride that comes along with knowing you crafted your beer from the ground up.

Not only is making your own beer eco-friendly, it can be very cost-effective, depending on how much and what kind of beer you regularly consume. If you plan on brewing regularly, you'll benefit by purchasing some ingredients in bulk if you're not growing them at home.

It does make sense, and I get delicious tasting beer for the price of swill beer to boot.

--JOsh