Don't dump your bad batches, drive with it!

**Revvy** · 05-23-2008, 01:46 PM

Heard this on the radio this morning.

Quote:

Waste Beer Ethanol to Fuel Democratic Convention Motorpool

DENVER, Colorado, May 22, 2008 (ENS)

The flex-fuel vehicles at this summer's Democratic National Convention will be running on waste beer, thanks to the Molson Coors Brewing Company.

Molson Coors, along with its U.S. subsidiary, Coors Brewing Company, will be the Official E85 Ethanol Producer for the convention, which is set for August 25 through 28 in Denver.

Molson Coors is donating all the clean-burning ethanol fuel for the fleet of 400 General Motors flex-fuel vehicles to be used for the convention's transportation needs. The fleet will be for the use of U.S. House and Senate Leadership, DNC officials and state party chairs, delegates, staff, and members of the media.

No one will be going hungry because ethanol is fueling the motorpool. Coors' ethanol is not the corn-based variety - it is made from waste beer generated at the Golden, Colorado, brewery, which now produces about three million gallons annually.

Coors is the first major U.S. brewer to convert its waste beer into ethanol. Since 1996, Coors has been recycling waste beer, which the company says is beer lost during packaging or deemed below quality standards, and converting it to alcohol automotive fuel.

The company says production of ethanol from waste beer also helps it eliminate about 70 tons of harmful volatile organic compounds from its air emissions annually.

Molson Coors CEO Leo Kiely said, "We are pleased that our waste beer can fuel the convention fleet and help support an environmentally conscious convention."

"Bill Coors used to say that waste was a resource out of place," Kiely quoted, adding, "that thinking still drives us today to recycle, reuse and reduce our consumption of energy and materials when and where we can. Minimizing our impact on the environment is the right thing to do and it's good for our business."

"From fueling a national conversation about sustainability to fueling convention vehicles, we're working toward a green convention on every front," said Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper.

"This flex-fuel initiative highlights Colorado's historic status as an energy and beer capital as well as its reputation for environmental and economic innovation," said the mayor.

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, a Democrat, applauded the company for turning waste beer into fuel, saying, "The upcoming convention will be the perfect opportunity to showcase Colorado's accomplishments in developing advanced renewable fuels."

General Motors has pledged that half of the vehicles it produces by 2012 will be flex-fuel capable, and two million flex-fuel vehicles are now on the road. The company currently has 11 flex-fuel models for 2008, and more than 15 planned for 2009.

GM North America President Troy Clarke said in February, "We will continue to make more of our lineup flex-fuel capable because we believe ethanol, and specifically E85, is the best near-term answer to reduce our nation's dependence on oil as energy demand rises here and around the world."

Clarke said, "The focus needs to be on making E85 more available by developing cellulosic ethanol sources and dramatically increasing the number of stations that offer E85."

(Of course one could argue that all Coors beer is waste beer!)

dblvsn · 05-23-2008, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Revvy

No one will be going hungry because ethanol is fueling the motorpool. Coors' ethanol is not the corn-based variety - it is made from waste beer generated at the Golden, Colorado, brewery, which now produces about three million gallons annually.

Oh come on! Who are they trying to kid? They brew way more than that a year!

homebrewer_99 · 05-23-2008, 09:32 PM

I read it as 3 MIL wasted annually...

Of course, there's no argument about it being waste...

soGGy · 11-26-2010, 06:44 AM

Coors is a waste of water. Any idea how they're converting beer into e85?

mattd2 · 11-26-2010, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by soGGy

Coors is a waste of water. Any idea how they're converting beer into e85?

Distill the beer to get the ethenol then mix with petrol?

**bendavanza** · 11-28-2010, 07:49 PM

That sounds like a lot of energy to get the ethanol out of such a weak wash.

**Revvy** · 01-07-2011, 03:44 PM

This is hillarous....I need to change this thread title.

This is from NPR

Quote:

Your Car: Powered Soon By Four Loko

Even if you can't drink and drive, your car can.

A Virginia company is taking in truckloads of boozy caffeinated drinks, including Four Loko, and recycling the stuff into pure ethanol to be blended into gasoline.

A crackdown on the beverages is leading wholesalers to send the drinks from their warehouses to waste management companies for handling.

"We’re at full capacity," Brian Potter, VP for for MXI Environmental Services, told the Associated Press. "There are about 30 different products involved, and we’ve only seen a couple of them at this point. It could go on for several months."

In November, the Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission moved to get drinks combining caffeine and alcohol off store shelves.

I'm OK with the car getting the alcohol, but wonder if they could send some of the recycled caffeine my way.

**Homercidal** · 01-07-2011, 06:49 PM

I tried that with my car, but it got the shakes...

**Revvy** · 01-07-2011, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Homercidal

I tried that with my car, but it got the shakes...

Instant rimshot.

**Homercidal** · 01-07-2011, 07:01 PM

Thanks, I'm here all week.