Madison's greenest beers

June 19, 7:02 PMMadison Green Living ExaminerShelly Rothman

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Photo:Lakefront Brewery

As summer rolls around and the time to enjoy a ice cold beer is at its prime I thought I might search out the most environmentally-friendly beers available here in Madison.  As it turns out, there aren’t so many.  Although wineries are turning more and more to sustainable practices and organic wines, breweries are lagging far behind in this department.  One local liquor store owner theorized that it may be because they don’t have to.  Beer drinkers tend to be loyal.  They find a beer or a brand of beers that they like and stick with it regardless of its practices or competition.  And since customers are not calling for change, breweries are not looking for greener pastures.  Well, not all breweries.  Here are the ones that made my list:

1.  Lakefront Brewery - I had to put these guys on the top of the list because I think they’re the best in Wisconsin.  Out of Milwaukee,  Lakefront donates spent grain from the brewing process to a non-profit organization, Growing Power, which uses it for compost to grow organic veggies for Midwest markets.  They are the oldest certified organic brewery in the country and are working with local organic farmers to get hops flourishing in Wisconsin again.   They also purchase wind power for a portion of their electricity.

Beer to try:  The Organic ESB (extra special bitter).  Made from 100% organic hops and grains.

Central Waters Honey Blonde label   Photo: Central Waters

2.  New Glarus Brewing Company -  Sensibly, they are located in New Glarus, WI.  They were recently bestowed an award for energy efficiency and conservation by Alliant Energy.  While building their new brew house and wastewater treatment facility they used green construction methods and designs and the buildings themselves are highly efficient.  They also have unbleached, non-glossy paperboard six-packs and use local Wisconsin malt and wheat in many of their beers.

Beer to try:  The Wisconsin Belgian Red.  This dude is delicious.  And they claim over a pound of Door County cherries are in every bottle

3. Central Waters – From Amherst, Wisconsin, this brewery has recently installed solar panels to match their already energy-efficient lighting system.  They also use radiant floor heating and in their new taproom all furnishing are from recycled resources.  Their packaging is also simple, unbleached, and non-glossy and they use local ingredients.

Beer to try:  Go for the Honey Blonde Ale made with Wisconsin honey.

4..  Capital Brewery - These guys are not in our capital city, rather its neighbor, Middleton, but that’s ok.  There is no evidence of their brewery moving in a sustainable direction but I was proud of them for using sustainable agriculture on Washington Island to grow wheat for their beers.  If they had not gotten involved, this island would have been sold to developers.

Beer to try:  The Island Wheat Ale is the one responsible for the good deeds.

5.  Furthermore Beer-  This is just a little company found in Spring Green so I don’t think they have the ability to buy wind power or other such things.  However, they do use local products in their beers whenever possible.

Beer to try:  The new Oscura, which uses 100% fair trade coffee from the local roasters, Just Coffee.

Honorable mention – Stevens Point Brewery.   I wanted to give this company some credit for their 24-pack returnables.  For the past 2 or 3 years they are the only company in Wisconsin, if not the country, to take bottles back for reuse.  The reason is, sadly, it is not a profitable venture.  They lose money every time one of the cases is not returned which happens regularly in Madison due to students keeping them to use as furniture.

The Mothership Wit            Photo: New Belgium Brewing Co.

Of course it is better to shop locally.  A beer shipped from Colorado is certainly going to be a little more carbon heavy but these breweries, though outside of Wisconsin, were just too good not to share.

1. New Belgium Brewing Company - Located in Fort Collins Colorado, this is the only brewery in the U.S. to run completely on wind power.  They are part of 1% For the Planet, which gives one percent of their revenue to environmental non-profits.  They have many other green practices including waste water recycling, recycling and composting at all their buildings, and at an employee’s one year mark, they are given a custom New Belgium bicycle. 

Beer to try:  Their first organically produced beer, the Mothership Wit, a shout out to our Mother Earth.

2. Great Lakes Brewing Company - Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, these guys are serious about the environment.  Their beer is delivered locally in their own restaurant-vegetable-oil-powered truck “The Fatty Wagon”.  They reuse spent grain for breads and left-over beer for recipes in their brewery’s restaurant and purchase natural and organic foods from local farmers.  They recycle, compost, and have many energy saving techniques like using cold winter air to refrigerate their beer.

Beer to try:  In honor of the environment, try the Burning River Pale Ale, named after the Cuyahoga River which went up in flames in 1969 because it was so polluted.

I suggest beer fans who want to be more responsible with their purchases go for one of these guys listed above.  Hopefully it will send a signal to brewers that we do care where our beer comes from.  And be a good customer and return your returnables.  I also suggest that beer stores be more supportive to those of us who are trying.  Not a one that I stopped at while collecting my info had a bike rack.