Environmental Impact of Homebrewing - Page 2

jbambuti · 11-01-2009, 10:31 PM

Here in Chicago, while we are supposed to be a 'green city', there is nothing that requires bars to recycle glass bottles. It always bothered me and when I was going to bars regularly, kept me drinking beers from the tap.

Now that I'm a home brewer, I not only reuse bottles that I buy, but accept bottles from others, so they don't end up in the landfill or in the recycling bin. My wife and I recycle as much as we can, taking a weekly trip to the recycling center. But, reusing bottles multiple times is way better than recycling.

Reducing society's impact on the environment is a very complicated proposition, but the way I look at it, if everyone takes a few important steps, then it will make a huge impact on the whole.

So, while my homebrewing isn't totally carbon and pollution neutral I use mostly natural products, recycle what I can, reuse all those empties, and don't burn the gas in the car that I used to going to the bar.

bierhaus15 · 11-01-2009, 10:32 PM

I read somewhere that a single AB brewery uses upwards of $100,000 in water and electricity for each day it is in operation. And that's not even considering the cost/ impact of growing and transporting the stuff that goes into a batch of beer.

Now, tell me why should I be concerned about using 8 gallons of water and $3.00 worth of propane for a batch of homebrew?

I dunno, but if we are all so worried about killing our planet by homebrewing, maybe we shouldn't be drinking beer.

**jkarp** · 11-01-2009, 10:37 PM

I had no kids so I brew guilt free!

A parents' carbon footprint multiplies 5.7 times per child.

Loweface · 11-01-2009, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hex

I've actually been concerned with the 'carbon footprint' of making alcohol! Yeast farts contribute to global warming.
I can't imagine beer and wine being as bad as distillates. Depends on how drunk I get, I guess...

The actual fermentation should be near enough carbon neutral, the boiling and transport of ingredients on the other hand could possibly be reduced.

**yogensha** · 11-01-2009, 10:39 PM

I saw an article somewhere about Brittish brewers using bacteria to derive methane from spent grain. The methane is then used to produce about 80% of the energy required for brewing. This requires significant scale to pay off, so it's not exactly something we'll all be doing, but it's interesting nonetheless. I also saw somebody rig up a big fresnel to heat water and wort using solar energy.

Personally, my biggest concern is waste water, primarily for wort cooling. I saw somebody on this forum dumping their waste cooling water into the washing machine to do a load of laundry, which I plan to start doing. Pick the low hanging fruit firstl

atromic · 11-01-2009, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bierhaus15

I dunno, but if we are all so worried about killing our planet by homebrewing, maybe we shouldn't be drinking beer.

Haha... Not enough to stop drinking, or brewing, but definitely something I think about.

jbambuti · 11-01-2009, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hammy71

Put me in the crowd of not giving a S&^%..... I don't loose any sleep over my 'carbon footprint' or if I can brew 'greener'. Do I recycle?...sure.... Do I try to conserve?....sure...Does it keep me up at night?....Hell no..... First time it crossed my mind was reading this.... Wait...wait for it.... nope...still nothing...sorry.....

I think the OP's point was to see if others thought about this, not whether anyone is losing sleep over it. Awareness is the first step to giving a S&^%.

Brewin_CRAZY · 11-01-2009, 10:59 PM

I would have to say guys, if you are worried about the environmental issues you really have nothing to worry about. First off, water issues, yes we waste a bit but there are so many ways to cut that down, more efficient heat exchangers... But if you compare it to larger breweries the waste water produced is far worse due to the caustics that they use to clean their equip. However most have CIP systems that do save a TON of water based on the amount of water they already use.

The whole carbon foot print issue... seriously guys, compare it to the daily use that you expel in your car. I have no hard data however a whole years worth of brewing is most likely about even with a days worth of car exhaust.

If you are really worried about the environmental impact do everything you can to conserve energy, but dont worry you are not causing a detrimental impact on the environment. There are much much MUCH worse issues out there. Personally I try to keep all my waste down as many ways as possible and just try not to be wasteful in general.

Brewin_CRAZY · 11-01-2009, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkarp

I had no kids so I brew guilt free!

A parents' carbon footprint multiplies 5.7 times per child.

LMAO, YES so all I have to do is not have kids and im fine. PERFECT!!!!

northernlad · 11-01-2009, 11:21 PM

I have thought about how I can reduce my water usage for cleaning and chilling but it is solely a financial concern. The idea that one is wasting water when it comes out of a pipe and goes right back into a pipe has baffled me for years. Yes there is additional water and utilities used in the processing of waste water but running water down your drain is not waste. Watering your lawn at 2pm in August in Texas is wasting water.
The rest you are merely trading for the commercial beer you would buy anyway and with the exception of increased packaging for smaller ingredient units, may come out ahead in other ways.
It takes the same amount of work to heat the water, mill the grains, etc whether it is for a 10,000 batch or a 5 gallon batch.
And yeast by-product induced global warming? Seriously?