Photo: Beer Runner
If you haven’t watched the news in the past few months, you might not know that California is in the midst of a massive drought. This has required breweries to come up with creative solutions to address it. All breweries have been asked to help out by using less water, but this also leads to less beer production. One brewery decided to go one step further by brewing beer using recycled water.
The recycled water Tunnel Vision IPA is Mavericks Brewing’s prototype of their specially brewed Tunnel Vision beer made from high purity recycled water. “This new version is created using the same recipe as our award-winning Mavericks Tunnel Vision IPA but with 100% recycled water sourced from NASA instead of our local water district,” says Lenny Mendonca, the co-owner and co-founder of Mavericks.
Like me, you might be wondering if this beer is safe to drink. “Recycled water is wastewater that has been purified,” says Mendonca. “Recycling storm water, grey water and sewage for both potable and non-potable purposes is key to assuring sustainable water supplies in developed communities.”
Recycled water is safe, employing proven water purification technologies developed decades ago in California and exported around the world to countries such as Singapore and Israel. “The biggest obstacle to recycling water is public perception concerning safety,” says Mendonca. “Leaders have the power to influence the social discourse and change people’s minds about water usage through education.” He believes that only an educated public will embrace new policies and technical solutions that challenge our current thinking.
Mendonca decided to make a beer using recycled water because he knew it would be a safe, easy way to help do his part to help conserve water. “One viable solution is the more expansive use of recycled water.”
Beer has a long history, dating back to Medieval Times, of helping to purify water. “At Mavericks Brewing, we wanted to rekindle that tradition and show that water can be recycled and used for drinking – even in the highest quality craft beer.” The water is high purity 100% recycled water sourced from NASA.
They wanted to raise public awareness of high purity recycled water as a safe, essential aspect of a sustainable water future by creating the first beer in California made from recycled grey water at Mavericks Brewing. “Our goal was to demonstrate that recycled water could be marketed to consumers as not only drinkable, but also great-tasting.”
Although safety laws don’t allow the sale of this beer to the public, attendees at the Meeting of the Minds (a platform for the sharing of knowledge) Closing Reception were able to sample both the recycled water Tunnel Vision IPA and the original version.
Complimentary tastes of the recycled water Tunnel Vision IPA were available for the general public (21 and over) at the Coastside Brewfest at Half Moon Bay Brewing Company (390 Capistrano Road, Half Moon Bay) on Saturday, October 24.
While the beer made with recycled water will not be available for sale due to current greywater restrictions, complimentary tastes of the recycled water Tunnel Vision IPA will be available for those 21 and over at the Coastside Brewfest at the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company.
The Drought has affected other California breweries as well. “As a water intensive process, breweries are deeply impacted,” says Scott Ungermann, Production Director at Anchor Brewer & Distilling who were asked by SFPUC to attempt to cut their water usage by 20% (as were all San Francisco residents). “Since we run a growing Brewery and Distillery, this is a very difficult request, however, we are doing our best to reduce our water consumption in all areas.” They measure their water usage in barrels of water per barrel of beer produced so that it takes out volume swings. “While we are not quite at 20% reduction in this metric, we are showing improvements and have plans in place that will exceed this target.”
There are currently no water usage limits in the San Francisco area, but Anchor strives to help in any way possible. “Anchor Brewing is committed to the environment and we are doing our best to be good neighbors in our community by only using our share of resources,” says Ungermann.
They have taken actions from the small scale (employee practices and low flow nozzles on hoses) to large scale capital projects (grey water recovery & re-use and closed loop cooling) to do their part. “That said, water is expensive so we have always been trying to conserve it; these actions are not solely a reaction to the drought.”
The entire California craft beer industry uses in a year the same amount of water as irrigating 680 acres of almond trees. “Yet the economic value is vastly different. California needs to be more thoughtful on prioritizing and balancing needs,” says Keith Greggor, CEO of Anchor Brewing & Distilling. “It’s cheaper to pay the farmers not to grow than lose the benefit of the craft beer industry.”
© 21st Amendment Brewery
Shaun O’Sullivan, co-founder of of 21st Amendment Brewery is definitely mindful of the drought and its effects on the brewing process. “Thankfully, we have a number of systems in place with our new state of the art equipment in our San Leandro Brewery enables us to be efficient with water use,” says O’Sullivan. In the brew house they efficiently use water through vessel automation sequencing and developed analytics that allow them to track data and optimize the system. “Downstream, in the cellar, our practices with clean-in-place procedures, we have the ability to recycle and reuse our process fluids thereby conserving water use.”
© 21st Amendment Brewery
Packaging their beer in cans instead of glass automatically cuts down on their water usage. “Cans arrive sterile and don’t need to undergo rinsing or sanitation, we have an air ionizer that blasts, protects and provides a sterile environment in each can,” says O’Sullivan. “We’re also continuing to partner brew in Cold Spring, MN, which cuts down greatly on our water use here in California.” He says that there is only one thing left to do though. “Pray for snow and rain.”
