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Five ideas for eco-friendly beer consumption
Tue, Nov 25 2008 at 12:52 PM
 5

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We don’t always want to think about being environmentally responsible all the time, especially when we’re tossing back a few with our friends. But it’s not that hard to make a few small choices that won’t disrupt the fun.
 
  1. Consider trying an organic beer or two. The ingredients that are most common in beer – barley, hops and sometimes wheat - are heavily laden with insecticides, fungicides, pesticides and chemical fertilizers when commercially grown. All of these are bad for the environment. The ingredients for organic beer should not be grown with any of those – leaving the earth (not to mention you) a little bit healthier.
 
  1. An alternative to organic beer when looking to leave less of an impact on the earth with your beer is to buy a local brew. It may not be organic, but it won’t have to travel far to get to you. The fancy imports that you drink may be really tasty, but they leave quite a carbon footprint getting from their home to yours. Buy buying local, the energy and fuel needed to transport the beer is decreased dramatically.
 
  1. When at a restaurant, order beer on tap. Many restaurants do not recycle their bottles because it’s either a hassle or they don’t want to pay the fee to have them hauled off. By ordering beer from the tap, there is a good chance you’ll save at least one bottle from ending up in a landfill.
 
  1. At your next party, get a keg instead of individual bottles or cans. Kegs are 100% reusable, you won’t have to worry about where to put all those empties until you can recycle them, and a keg will probably save you money. And while, yes, glass and cans are fully recyclable, recycling them takes energy and resources. By going with a keg, you’ll save the energy and resources that would have been used to recycle your empties
 
  1. Recycle your empties. This may seem like a no-brainer but I’m still surprised at how many people don’t do it – even when they have curbside recycling programs. If you don’t have curbside recycling or your apartment complex doesn’t have a program, you can find out where to take any glass or cans that need to be recycled by going to Earth911. By entering your zip code, you can find the nearest recycling center.

 

The opinions expressed by MNN Bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of MNN.com. While we have reviewed their content to make sure it complies with our Terms and Conditions, MNN is not responsible for the accuracy of any of their information.

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Comments: 5
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anonymous
andrew Apr 23 2009 at 10:53 AM

I don't like keg beer that much. It tastes terrible. Isn't glass recyclable? Just find a bar that recycles glass
sugar land apts

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anonymous
Daisy Apr 20 2009 at 7:59 PM
I attended an expensive liberal arts college - on scholarship. So did my husband. At the end of a term, Hubs and his best friend used to gather the empty kegs from the rich kids parties and return them for their deposits. The rich kids didn't care, left the kegs behind. He cleaned up the mess and earned a few bucks in return. Local? I'm not a beer drinker, but Husband is. Our local brewpub makes great ales. We're happy to patronize a good local place and cut our carbon footprint in the process. We're
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not perfect, but who is? All of us just try to do a little more each day and step a little more lightly on our Earth.
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achase's picture
Ashley Chase Apr 20 2009 at 3:05 PM
Just because the information she presents isn't the perfect solution, doesn't mean it's misleading or misinformation. Kegs ARE a great solution if people are going to be drinking mass amounts, because you REDUCE the amount of waste created (by aluminum cans or glass bottles), in the hopes that people will re-use the same (sadly, plastic or styrofoam) cup several times. No one's saying that the keg option is carbon-neutral (unless you're strictly using glasses or cups from your kitchen...in which
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case...way to go), it's just eco-FRIENDLY. And two, the whole point of taking green steps is to eventually influence large corporations like InBev to re-think how they do things. Like you said, it would take a major revolution to change people's habits. That's exactly the point of this article...helping to change people's habits, because as you said, "each effort, no matter how small, helps."
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anonymous
Guest Jan 19 2009 at 10:54 AM
Although this article does educate your average "johnny the drinker," it is misleading. Issue one, the "drink from local breweries." Sounds great, but the idea that not drinking that imported ale helps reduce pollution ones carbon footprint is grossly overstated. Its true each effort, no matter how small, helps. But InBev (largest beer company on Earth) isn't going to see any reason to reduce their shipments anytime soon. It would take a major revolution to change peoples habits and reduce the carbon
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footprint related to beer imports. Two, the Keg reccomendation. Another swell idea. No cans or glass to dispose of, and the keg is reused afterwards. Only issue here is how the beer is being drank. Let's face it people generally will not drink out of paper, if you can find inexpensive recycled paper cups. Otherwise your stuck with traditional fare, styrofoam and plastic, guaranteed to be here for centuries to come! I don't mean to be a negative voice as I firmly believe education and effort of any size is worthwhile. However, with this "trend" of eco-friendly thoughts and advice there has been an onslaught of misleading and misinformation. Being globally aware and taking care of the Earth is a beautiful thing, let's all make sure that the information we share is legit and worth passing on.
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anonymous
Guest Sep 18 2009 at 11:07 PM

Sorry but plan on pouring into a nice chilled glass that is thirty years old. As for Inbev who are they? Do they make that yellow stuff? Why not find a local brewer at least 23 in my county. No need to purchase beer brewed outside of your local area unless yellow is your color? Or Utah is your home state!

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