Sustainability — LOcal Craft Beer – Pixabay CC0

Brew Local to Be Sustainable

With energy resources becoming the global concern that it is, will beer disappear? First I will answer that with a NO. However, it will be more likely that the beer I drink maybe a homebrew as opposed to a Molson, Coors, or PBR.

I give you this scenario for globalized worlds need to become local. The reason I pose the need for localization aligning with the effect on beer, because what would the world be without beer.

Brewing Local Helps the Environment

The way things typically work in the mass production of beer vary but putting things generically will give perspective. Central brewing locations import ingredients. These ingredients are grown typically in a monoculture setting using pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and fertilizers; all of which are distributed with petrol-driven machines. Shipping these ingredients trucks, or in some cases planes, are used both using petrol as fuel. Once in the brewing location, energy is used to brew and package the beer; likely this will be from coal or natural gas power. After the final product is created it is shipped by the same means ingredients are imported. At the retail store, it is purchased by the consumer. This excludes the employees who drive vehicles to get to work along with the entire scenario.

Our current supply chain for mass-produced beer is unsustainable. Oil is a finite resource. Amazingly, the entire world’s supply of oil can fit into Wisconsin’s Green Bay. With the diminishing supplies, prices will rise for mass-produced brewing

Support Your Local Craft Brewers for Sustainability

Support of local brewers cuts back on the amount of petroleum used and stimulates the local economy. I say start a home-brew revolution, support your local brewers. Nothing brings a community together like enjoying a cold mug of brew with friends, made in your own neighborhood. My local brewery in Marquette, Michigan is Blackrocks.