Sustainable Beer? Breweries Where Great Taste, Eco-Friendliness Go Together

Oktoberfest celebrations are popping up all over at this time of year. Yet, with the beer industry's notable water footprint—a pint of beer requires about 44 gallons of water—and its substantial generation of wastewater, byproducts and solid waste, critics have long been outspoken about the popular beverage's environmental impact.

Innovators, though, are constantly working to shift the status quo in favor of the environment. Whether it's the use of solar panel water heaters, or donating spent grains to local farmers for animal feed, or mass tree-planting initiatives, or generating water via reverse osmosis, the following craft breweries are making efforts to shave down the industry's impact. Drink these brews—and enjoy the season—knowing that they were made ethically, with Earth in mind.

Carbon Recovering: Alaskan Brewing Company

Juneau, Alaska

Never mind this brewery's magnificent views overlooking Thunder Mountain, Alaska Brewing Company crafted the first CO2 recovery system in the U.S. to clean the carbon produced during the fermentation process. Operating since 1986, this brewery is likewise the first in Juneau since Prohibition. Peer onto icy mountain caps as you down a Kölsch.

Drought Friendly: Anderson Valley Brewing Company

Boonville, California

The world's first solar powered brewery, AVBC uses endlessly recycled cans and reuses water to combat the California droughts. This brewery—known widely for their malty Boont Amber Ale—also boasts an 18-hole disc golf course within its 30 acres of green pastures, open to the public with no charge.

Offsetting Ale: Brooklyn Brewery

Brooklyn, New York

In the heart of what was the historical powerhouse of beer production, this brewery is known for its Brooklyn Lager, now celebrating its 35th anniversary. In order to make their beer production more sustainable, they purchased and planted 375 acres of CO2-converting trees in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley in 2016, offsetting the carbon from their Williamsburg operations each year.

Sacred Hops: Cervecería Del Valle Sagrado

Cusco, Peru

This brewery's red façade honors its mountainous chicheria roots, in which secret brew houses are flagged in crimson to indicate a brewery inside. Likewise, each of their beers are brewed with high-quality local products, such as fruit, coffee, cacao and herbs. They have also set up initiatives to donate spent grains from the brewing process to feed local small animals, notably guinea pigs.

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Irish Sun: Wicklow Wolf

Wicklow, Ireland

To reduce its carbon footprint, this Irish brewery installed solar panels that cover the entirety of its 17,000-square-foot roof and generate 107,000 KwH of power annually. Wicklow's Locavore project also allows the brewery to experiment with local flavors; most recently, they developed a Mixed Berry Sour brewed with locally grown berries.

Dehydrated Brew: Radegast Brewery

Nošovice, Czech Republic

Acclaimed for its bitter Radegast Rázná 10, Radegast uses 2.3 liters of water per liter of beer, compared to the industry average of 4 to 6 liters of water. Plus, check out the adjoining Beer Academy to learn how to pour a perfect glass.

Sweet Neutrality: Darling Brew

Darling, South Africa

Known as Africa's first carbon-neutral brewery, the mechanisms housed within this space will save 687.96 tons of CO2 per year, about the same as 17,829 tree seedlings growing for 10 years. On top of that, the brewery turns its spent grains—the grains that remain after liquid is separated from them—into edible beer grain chips.

Liquid Miracle: Alexander Brewery

Emek Hefer, Israel

This brewery rejects the industry norm of using tap water by producing its own water on site via reverse osmosis. The water is likewise heated using solar power, and the brewery donates its spent grains to local farmers—free of charge—to use as livestock feed.

Go Local: Tedorigawa Yoshida Sake Brewery

Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan

The founder of this family-run brewery, built in 1870, began sourcing his grains locally, deepening ties to the community. Sip Tedorigawa Iki na Onna, their wild-honey infused sake, amidst the verdant groves of one of Japan's best-known rice producing regions.

Glowing Green: Young Henrys Brewery

Sydney, Australia

In 2019, the tanks of Young Henrys Brewery glowed green; its brewers incorporated algae into their beer-making, absorbing the excess amount of CO2 created by the process. In fact, while the brewery is still experimenting with algae, Young Henrys' bioreactor produces more oxygen than two and a half acres of Australian forest. Sip a Newtowner Pale Ale while you peruse YH's effervescent tanks. Correction 09/27/2023, 4:30 pm: Anderson Valley Brewing Company entry was corrected to clarify that it is not all of its energy is from solar power, the type of golf course and its acreage.