Cascade Green: 100% Carbon Offset Beer
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 03.11.08
“...for beer drinkers who have an interest in environmental issues.” Burp.
We’ve covered a couple of green Antipodean beers before (Green Man and Mountain Goat), but here is a another twist. Cascade Brewery, from Tasmania, have declared their new Cascade Green as 100% carbon neutral from the picking of hops to the eventual deposit in the recycling bin.
And although the company isn’t claiming the ingredients are organic or vegan or suchlike, they do suggest they are all locally sourced from Tasmania. That the brewery has already reduced its energy usage by 16% and water usage by 30% per unit of production over the last six years. And that Cascade Green will travel to drinker’s lips courtesy of what is said to be lightest weight, highest recycled content glass bottle currently available in Australia. And cartons of stuff will traverse the land in 100% recycled cardboard printed with two-colour biodegradable vegetable inks.
The carbon neutral aspect comes via the purchase of Australian Government Greenhouse Friendly certified carbon offsets go to supporting the Hobart Landfill Flare Facility. This AGL operated landfill extracts methane-rich gas from decomposing organic waste to generate 7,500 MWh of electricity per annum, enough to supply more than 1,100 homes. The project is said to save over 35,000 tonnes of CO2 per annum, equal to taking 9,200 cars of the road each year.
Cascade is owned the Australian brewing powerhouse Fosters. Their Sustainability Manager, Scott Delzoppo said that "Reducing our carbon footprint makes good business sense. The work completed to understand and reduce the carbon footprint of Cascade Green is an important input into our continuing group efforts to reduce our global greenhouse gas emissions." ::Cascade Green, via The Australian.
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- A Carbon Neutral Futurama
- Greyhound Australia to Begin Carbon Offset Program
- Pink is the New Green
- First Carbon Neutral Suit Available, But Better Act Fast
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Check out http://www.crannogales.com/
Great if you're in Australia, not so great for everyone else.
For Americans, there are plenty of breweries with green initiatives. One of the biggest in the news lately has been New Belgium, brewers of Flat Tire and a lot of other great beer (http://www.newbelgium.com/sustainability.php) . One of my favorites out east, Great Lakes, sells its spent grains to cattle farmers in the area and then (if memory serves) buys that beef to serve in its brewpub.
That's the tip of the iceberg! Look around and you'll find plenty more. Might make an interesting feature article eh?