{"id":182504,"date":"2018-09-22T05:48:58","date_gmt":"2018-09-22T09:48:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=182504"},"modified":"2018-09-22T05:49:24","modified_gmt":"2018-09-22T09:49:24","slug":"green-beer-looks-like-algae-clean-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/09\/22\/green-beer-looks-like-algae-clean-water\/","title":{"rendered":"A green beer that looks like algae? It’s all for clean water"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The ghastly-looking “Alegae Bloom” beer made by Maumee Bay Brewing Co., which relies on Lake Erie for its water, is a good conversation starter that reminds customers about the toxic algae that show up each year in the shallowest of the Great Lakes, said brewery manager Craig Kerr. (File Photo<\/a>: Maumee Bay Brewing Company\/Facebook<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TOLEDO, Ohio \u2014 There are spicy beers and even peanut butter beers, made to stand out on crowded shelves. Then there’s a murky, green brew that looks a lot like algae. It’s making a statement on the one\u00a0ingredient\u00a0brewers can’t do without \u2014 clean water.<\/p>\n

The ghastly-looking “Alegae Bloom” beer made by Maumee Bay Brewing Co., which relies on Lake Erie for its water, is a good conversation starter that reminds customers about the toxic algae that show up each year in the shallowest of the Great Lakes, said brewery manager Craig Kerr.<\/p>\n

Workers came up with the idea last summer when a thick coat of algae settled into a creek alongside its brew house.<\/p>\n

“We’re going to keep doing this until the algae bloom isn’t there anymore,” Kerr said. “The goal is to never make this beer again.”<\/p>\n

Craft brewers nationwide are pushing for strong environmental regulations while also working to preserve rivers and streams, all in the name of water. A growing number are getting involved at a time when the Trump administration is seeking to do away with a rule that a group of brewers say protects water sources from pollution.<\/p>\n

Some brewers, like Maumee Bay, are serving up seasonal batches to draw attention to pollutants that threaten Florida’s aquifers and Colorado’s mountain streams.<\/p>\n

Mixing beer into debates over environmental policy adds levity to discussions about protecting the nation’s waterways and helps connect with new audiences.<\/p>\n

“We’re reaching people where they drink,” said Becky Hammer, of the Natural Resources Defence Council, who oversees the Brewers for Clean Water campaign, which has grown from a few dozen members to nearly 100 during the past five years.<\/p>\n

The council has seized on the efforts by brewers to team up with them in lobbying against the repeal of an Obama-era clean water rule intended to reduce sources of pollution dumped in the small tributaries of larger lakes and rivers.<\/p>\n

But that’s not the only water issue that beer makers are worried about.<\/p>\n

A group of brewers in Michigan voted this year to back shutting down an aging oil pipeline where lakes Huron and Michigan meet because it could be vulnerable to leaks.<\/p>\n

“This is my livelihood,” said Larry Bell, owner of Bell’s Brewery. “It’s a business issue for us, but it’s also good for the community and society that we have clean water.<\/p>\n

He got a close look at how vulnerable the water supply is after a pipeline spilled oil near his brewing facility in 2010.<\/p>\n

Some craft breweries in Salem, Oregon, stopped making beer for several weeks in June after an algae bloom led to a drinking water warning for the young and sick.<\/p>\n

Ian Croxall, a co-owner of Santiam Brewing in Salem, said they could’ve stayed open, but customers were asking “if the beer was being made with toxic water.”<\/p>\n

The brewery lost about $40,000 and spent another $5,000 on a new filtration system in case the toxins return, he said.<\/p>\n

Craft brewers say it’s their duty to protect the water they use. Beer is about 90 per cent water, after all.<\/p>\n

Atlanta’s SweetWater Brewing Co. and Swamp Head Brewery in Gainesville, Florida, trace their involvement in clean water campaigns to founders who saw protecting the environment as part of their business model.<\/p>\n

But getting involved in clean-water politics can create sticky situations.<\/p>\n

New Belgium Brewing Co. found that out three years ago when bars and restaurants in Craig, Colorado, began a boycott of its beer.<\/p>\n

It turned out the company had given money for waterways projects to an environmental group involved in an unrelated court case that threatened to shut down a coal mine just outside the city.<\/p>\n

“We felt compassionate and listened to them,” said Katie Wallace, New Belgium’s assistant director of sustainability. “Public perception is something we care about, but it doesn’t change our overall view.”<\/p>\n

New Belgium, based in Fort Collins, Colorado, said it has given $16 million to non-profit groups, with a large chunk going toward water protection projects. It also has been one of the loudest voices calling for stronger environmental policies.<\/p>\n

That means occasionally hearing from people telling them “stick to making beer.”<\/p>\n

“We didn’t ask politics to get involved in beer,” Wallace said. “But they did when our No. 1\u00a0ingredient\u00a0is being threatened.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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