Adnams and Sustainability

As part of their push to build a reputation as one of Britain’s greenest brewers, Suffolk brewery have stuck a nice little booklet (printed in vegetable ink, on recycled paper) into every issue of New Scientist this week. The booklet outlines, in some detail, everything they’re doing to reduce their environmental impact.

Brewing and beer (especially beer from abroad) is a guilty pleasure for people who worry about the environment. Most breweries waste a lot of energy to turn barley and water into beer. Adnams are ahead of the game in trying to reduce the wastage. For example, they say they reuse 90% of the steam produced by the process. They’ve also made their bottles lighter and, in so doing, reduced their “carbon footprint” significantly, because they’re easier to transport.

I’ve never been particularly excited by any of their beers — I suspect this is to do with the crappy pubs where I’ve tasted them! — but do applaud the huge commitment they’ve apparently made to this cause.

Update: I’m not the only one who’s interested in green breweries today…