Sustainability: A revolution in UK craft beer
Many craft breweries are leading the charge towards a more sustainable future. From eco-conscious brewing practices to innovative packaging solutions, the craft beer industry is proving that delicious brews can go hand-in-hand with environmental responsibility.
We explored how craft breweries are getting crafty with sustainability!
How Craft Breweries are Going Green
There is huge potential to brew better! One of the pioneering breweries in London is Forest Road.
Forest Road is currently based in East London. With sustainability always high on the agenda, the first action was sourcing their brew kit, and finding one that was as energy-efficient as possible: “That’s why we’ve landed on Rolec’s state-of-the-art equipment. Brewing is all about heating and cooling, and what Rolec have done is pair these transitions up beautifully. So, for example, steam generated when boiling in the kettle is used to heat water for mashing in the next brew. This is great in terms of reducing energy usage as well as cutting down the amount of water that we need to use.”
Inspiration from across the Globe
Ian explains how sustainability came to be something central to Forest Road. “Our focus on sustainability came about through a lack of industry standards: we hate there aren’t more regulations in the brewing industry to protect the environment when it’s a hugely important issue. Many of our favourite breweries in the US were leading the way in sustainability across all industries while many breweries in the UK were still dumping chemicals and waste effluent into the Thames water…”
They are industry leaders in the US where the brewery runs almost entirely on solar and wind power, recovering 99.8% of their total solid waste through reusing, recycling and using a rainwater catchment system that has reduced the water intake by 25%.
Try something new
Forest Road is experimenting with something quite special. Working with a local University they are implementing the first UK brewery pilot of an in-line waste water-to-energy treatment system.
“Without going into too much detail, bacteria chew through organic waste and transfer that energy to a matrix within the pipe. We’re taking this concept and putting it into practice!” Ian explains that it’s a risk because there is no guarantee it will necessarily work. “But we’re willing to take a chance on it. If it works, it will make such a huge difference to our brewery’s environmental impact, and for brewing as a whole.”
And it doesn’t end here
“Being an independent business means we’re able to think about more than just our bottom line. Everyone knows that being environmentally responsible is the right thing to do, but too often that goodwill crumbles at the first push from investors – or even at your own desire to impress with profit, rather than persistence.” And Ian’s keen to share that this isn’t the end of Forest Road’s experiments. “We’re still really open to any ideas that can make our brewery more sustainable, and we’re always looking out for ways to do it all better.”
At Zipcar, we love that these sustainable processes are starting to inspire pioneering start-ups worldwide. We’re observing the growth of an unorthodox start-up story and its sustainable vision, their journey began with a simple observation and led them to a radical idea. It's clear to us that Forest Road is not just changing the way we think about breweries but also paving the way for a more sustainable future.
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