Stephen Blyth's Blog

How to drink beer and save the world

Friday, May 4th, 2007, Activism, Beer & kai

A few years back I jokingly suggested drinking beers brewed by small companies was a way of supporting local community economic development. Sure, any excuse to drink beer everyone said. Just now I’ve learnt that brewers are also good for the environment. Not just another excuse I say….

Last week I strayed on a news item that screened on mainstream US television about a green brewery. The news report featured co-founder Kim Jordan talking about the philosophy of the New Belgium brewery, based in Fort Collins, Colorado. She explained the four guiding principles: having fun, brewing world class beer, promoting beer culture and being environmental stewards. Evidence of the “reduce, reuse, recycle” mantra is everywhere: waste water is converted to energy, electricity also comes from windpower, the building is constructed from reclaimed wood, and desks are made from old FedEx tubes. You can read NBC’s coverage, “Beer maker sees green from start to finish”, or even watch a short news item, “A green brewery without green beer”, both from 2 May 2007.

Across the Atlantic in north west England, Ashton Hayes is aiming to be England’s first carbon neutral village. The Golden Lion will reach another first if the Landlord Gary Cooney has his way. The Golden Lion will be England’s first carbon neutral boozer. He has a plan: “The first things we’ll be doing is to take a close look at the pub’s energy use – in lighting, heating, kitchens and bar – to see where we can make low cost energy savings. We’ll also be attempting to convert the pub over to a ‘green energy’ supply – where electricity is generated from renewable resources.” The Ashton Hayes initiative recently received international attention on Radio Deutche Welle’s Living Planet programme.

I suspect Chris O’Brien, blogging at The Beer Activist, would appreciate my argument about making a difference drinking beer. In his book Fermenting a Revolution: how to drink beer and save the world, released in December 2006, he talks about beeroregionalism, beer crafting community and slow beer, as well as enlightening us on a dark storm brewin’.

After reading a sample chapter of the book on the New Society Publishers website I get the sense Chris is a pretty serious sorta guy. In his day job he works for the Responsible Purchasing Network at The Center for a New American Dream and he says he is willing to travel the world to research local brewing traditions.

In the introduction to Fermenting Revolution Chris discusses beer in quasi-sacred terms. He says “Beer nurtures and soothes, inspires and excites. It can be creative and fulfilling, both spiritually as well as materially. Beer is diverse and yet unifying. It is the past, the present, and the future. Beer is the nearest I have ever come to finding God.”

I didn’t need to be won over to the idea that beer is a good thing, but I am doubly sure now.