Does it Really Matter What Kind of Beer I Buy?

Have a green dilemma or question for Planet Green? Please send questions to askplanetgreen [at] gmail [dot] com. (Questions may be edited for publication.)

Dear Planet Green,

Although I know it's greener to not drink at all (or at least limit my drinking), if I'm going to have a drink—does it really matter what kind of beer I buy?

Dear Beer Belly,

To answer your question in one word: Yes. To answer your question in two words: Absolutely; yes. The alcohol industry contributes to a lot of environmental negativity—even if we don't want to think about such dilemmas while buzzed. With beer, tons of environmental concerns come into play and you can help steer the direction of the beer industry by choosing to support companies who are concerned with their impact on the planet. There's organic beer, fuel-efficient production and transportation of beer, and plenty of other reasons to pose some eco-questions before investing in a beer company. Certain companies are striving for green change and those are the companies you should be supporting.

Portland's Lucky Labrador Brewing Company includes insulated pipes that are installed on the roof of their location that draw down enough energy from the sun to nearly completely fuel the first stage of beer-making. This beer is referred to as 'Sun Beer' and you should be on the lookout for it.

New Belgium Brewing Company focuses on producing beer the green way and their beers are pretty easy to hunt down. (I see Fat Tire in pubs all of the time). They've worked to make their brew kettle as efficient as possible. Their company has green lighting, green evaporative coolers, and parts of their location are furnished with pine from fallen trees. They've paid special attention to decreasing their water use, they create their energy on-site (including wind-powered electricity—something they have been doing since 1999), make sure their events are as sustainable as possible, and in addition to all other green initiatives taken on by this company, they're also members of 1% For The Planet, which ensures that 1% of their revenue goes toward environment non-profits.

Long Trail Brewing Company launched EcoBrew in an effort to make greener beer. Long Trail has an in-house Heat Recovery System that condenses steam from their brewing back into water and they're able to recover 3.7 million BTU's per day in the form of heat energy thanks to this process. This reduces their propane use by over 1,100 gallons per month. Long Trail has learned to make fine beer with less water. Standard breweries use 6 gallons of water for every one gallon of beer. Long Trail has cut their water use down to only two gallons of water for every one gallon of beer.

These aren't the only companies making a difference, but they're helping to pave the path toward greener beer. The biggest reason why you should buy green beer, however, is to help increase the demand for it. If the demand for green beer becomes apparent to breweries, their supply of green beer will increase. And hey, the more green beer that's being made, the better, right? Indulging in a drink here and there without being able to do so with a clean conscience kind of defeats the purpose, if you ask me.