You know, you can refill that bottle.

Wow, everyone's thinking about packaged beer these days.

On Thursday I was in a lecture on sustainability and the life cycle of beer at the Craft Brewers Conference. During the Q&A I presented the panel with the question "where do reusable bottles fit into a sustainability solution?"

I guess I wasn't the only one who had this question.

This morning I read an article in Joe Sixpack's column about the demise of the returnable bottle. Why did the reusable disappear in the US?

I am often fascinated with ways that brewers can lessen their carbon footprint. The returnable bottle is perhaps the most eco-friendly packaging solution besides kegs. And yet it has completely disappeared here. Bottles obviously carry a detrimental carbon load (you can refer to this article for more specifics), besides the impact of beer in a retail setting, glass carries the largest carbon footprint in the lifecycle of beer.

When I presented the sustainability director from New Belgium Brewing, who was on the panel, with the idea of reusing bottles, my thoughts were sort of poopooed as if reusing a bottle wasn't possible.

And then the audience spoke up.

Canada reuses bottles, Europe reuses bottles, developing countries reuse bottles, third world countries reuse bottles, homebrewers reuse bottles, and up until about teh 70's every bottle in the US got reused. And here we sit, one of the richest countries in the world, and we're told it's just too much of a logistical matter to be a feasible solution.

Maybe, we are just too comfortable with the waste we generate. I would think New Belgium, a brewery I hold in high esteem when it comes to sustainability, would be all over this topic. But, they weren't, just too much logistics. How sad.

Challenges for the green brewery.

I came across this article recently about sustainability and the beer industry. Interesting. They talk about a couple of issues that concern me and my passion for beer, mainly breweries resource use and CO2 emission. It's hard for me to get around the fact that brewing beer requires alot of water and energy. I just wish this wasn't so.

The article doesn't really address ways to solve this problem, it just sort of highlights the fact that it is there. Check it out, it's worth a read.

Bottle conditioning saved my beer.

Bottle conditioning makes sense.



Before I get into why it's such a great idea, first, let me tell you what it means to bottle condition a beer.

Bottle conditioning is the process of leaving or adding live yeast to a beer so it can mature in the bottle. Most bottle conditioning involves adding yeast and a sugar source of some sort at bottling. This causes the beer to referment, adding natural carbonation, a layer of live yeast, and a small amount of alcohol.

Here are some reasons why this is such a great idea:

1. It keeps the beer fresher. When the yeast ferments the sugar it uses up most of the oxygen trapped in the bottle. Oxygen is a great enemy to beer, breaking it down and contributing to oxidation off flavors. By eliminating the oxygen the beer stays fresher longer.

2. More carbonation. Bottle conditioned beers have the ability to contain more carbonation than regular bottled or draft beer. I love the liveliness of bottle conditioned Belgian beer, especially Duvel.

3. Added complexity. The refermentation adds more layers of depth and texture to the beer.

4. Better cellaring ability. The active yeast left in the bottle allows the beer to develope and change over time. Orval is a great example of a beer that matures well in the bottle.