The 2018 Great American Beer Festival was the first time I attended the GABF as part of the beer media. I wrote a series of articles for the fest on the “environment of beer.” Throughout it all I had good experiences, found a couple of things that didn’t work, and made an audio mistake that ruined my video. Here’s my breakdown of the GABF media experience: the good, the bad and the D’Oh!. Continue reading
Photo © Brewers Association
I’m going back to the Great American Beer Festival for the first time in 10 years. This time I have more on my agenda than celebrating good beer. The beer is still the star, but I’ll be scouting for a certain undertone…an environmental undertone. I’ll be exploring the “environment of beer” by talking to the brewers, attendees, and viewing the fest with my eyes on the environmental world of beer. It’s my new return to the Great American Beer Festival. Continue reading
There is often a connection between good craft beer and the environment. It can be supporting causes, reducing energy and water, or waste reduction through recycling and composting. For Bridger Brewing in Bozeman, MT it began with an environmental professional who turned his passion for good beer into a great brewery. But that wasn’t the first or even second thing that attracted me to their brew pub near the campus of Montana State University. Continue reading
Green Drinks is a great example of living the environmental professional lifestyle. It is a group of people who work in the environmental field that meet monthly for a happy-hour style gathering of food, drinks, and conversation. The environment of beer (or other drinks) is just the thing this blog is all about. In their own words, Green Drinks includes a lively mixture of people from NGOs, businesses, academia, government and the local community across political and economic spectra who enjoy the opportunity to chat and network under a broad umbrella. Continue reading
“Without clean water there is no beer.” That’s a great slogan for a brewery that supports clean water. I was drinking a Winter Storm Imperial ESB from Heavy Seas Beer when I saw, “Can’t make great beer without clean water!” printed on the label. I don’t remember seeing a brewery that was this open, direct, and to the point with its commitment to an environmental cause. The Clean Water Fund logo and information was right there on the back label. I was curious to know more about Heavy Seas Beer’s support of the Clean Water Fund.
I enjoy the environment of beer and reached out to them to learn more. Fred Crudder, Director of Marketing & Hospitality, responded and was happy to tell the story of their support of the Clean Water Fund. Thanks also to Christine Shaffer, PR & Communications. They invited me to the brewery to meet. Unfortunately they are in Baltimore and I’m in Denver. If you’re in Baltimore or the mid-Atlantic and want a good beer that supports a good cause, stop in for a pint. Have one for me, too. Continue reading
The Coors Brewery Tour is known for 2 things: 1) seeing behind the scenes of the iconic brewery in Golden, CO, and 2) the free beer in the Tasting Room. But there are several environmental related topics presented throughout the tour. I’ve highlighted several of them here, along with some information from the MillerCoors Sustainability and Environmental Stewardship pages. I’ve toured several breweries. Each time I’m reminded of the industrial process involved in brewing and packaging. So I also have on my CHMM-hat looking the environmental, health, and safety of the brewery. Continue reading
This is the second brewery I’ve written about, so it’s officially the start of my Environment of Beer series.
Left Hand Brewing in Longmont, CO hosted the Rocky Mountain Chapter of CHMMs for our September meeting. Our visit to the brewery included a presentation by Plant Manager, Jake Kolakowski, and a tour. It was a unique opportunity to look at the environment of a craft brewery and of course, sample good beer. Continue reading
Bayern’s Dancing Trout keeping cool while fly fishing
Bayern Brewery in Missoula, MT has been brewing award-winning, traditional German beers since 1987. They’re not one of the new breweries on the growing-craft-beer-market block. There are a lot of great breweries, but very of few of them have the same strong commitment to a sustainability program.
I’ve been to their brewery and tasting room twice during my travels to Missoula. During my most recent visit with a co-worker, who lives in Missoula, he began telling me about their recycling program and other environmental efforts. As a beer drinking and environmental professional, I am interested in the “environment of beer” and wanted to know more. I didn’t want to miss this opportunity to drink some good beer and learn more about their environmental programs.
Their most interesting sustainable practice is that they recycle their own glass. Combined with buying back their 6-pack holders and/or giving recyclers trade-in value for beer, they recycle or reuse their entire packaging material. For a $3 deposit, you can get one of their Ecopacks to collect and return the bottles and 6-pack holders. They’ll even take back other qualifying beer bottles. How about that, beer drinkers? Bring back your bottles and 6-pack holders and they’ll give you credit for beer!