Brewers Stamp Out the Stigma of Recycled Water with Craft Beer

by | Sep 14, 2017

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Three brewing companies in the Denver area have begun brewing beer made from recycled water. Lone Tree Brewing Company, Lost Highway Brewing Company and 105 West Brewing Company received shipments of direct potable reuse water produced by a mobile water treatment plant this week; the 330 gallons of water delivered to each brewery are earmarked to become Colorado’s first craft beer from recycled water. Recycled water – that is, wastewater that has been purified and repurposed – still carries a stigma that the beer companies are hoping to overcome.

 

Water Innovation Leads to Mobile Treatment Plant

The mobile water treatment plant was designed by in part by CH2M, and was conceptualized as a project that won a $250,000 Water Innovation Challenge grant in 2016. The grant was awarded to the Southwest Water Campus, a coalition of water utilities and service companies led by the Pima County Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department.

The prize money was used to rent a truck to haul water-treatment equipment around Arizona, with a portion of its treated water being dropped off at craft breweries around the state. Now the truck has come to Colorado. The beer will be in the brewing process through Sept. 17; on October 13, special batches of the recycled craft brews will be served at CH2M’s ReuseFest.

Direct potable reuse is a solution for stressed water supplies and for future-proofing water resources for resilient cities, said CH2M reuse technology director Larry Schimmoller. By applying this technology to local craft beer, the company is hoping to highlight the positive impacts recycled water can have in communities, and helping build public support for similar initiatives. CH2M is also hoping to transform the perception of wastewater from a “gross” concept to one that makes sense to consumers.

Tina Pachorek, CEO of Lost Highway Brewing Company, pointed out that most beer drinkers don’t realize it takes 60 ounces of water to brew a 12-ounce bottle of beer. “With water under increasing demand, we want to do our part to build a sustainable future,” she said.

 

How It Works

The reclaimed water from Pima County’s Agua Nueva Water Reclamation Facility is pumped into a treatment trailer. Once in the trailer, it is purified using a multi-barrier purification process including ultra-filtration, reverse osmosis, ultraviolet disinfection with advanced oxidation, activated carbon filtration and chlorine disinfection to transform recycled community wastewater into pure drinking water.

 

How Brewers Are Facing Water Risk

This is a critical year for the water industry, Bluefield Research president Reese Tisdale said in January. “Market forces such as drought and water scarcity will drive new business models and interest in water reuse. We will also see a focus on innovation in the form of smart water technologies and industrial water treatment; how far these solutions will go remains to be seen.”

With the brewing of beer being so water-intensive, brewers large and small are seeking ways to reduce water usage. Molson Coors, for example, was able to reduce water consumption by 0.6% in 2016 and announced plans to improve water-use efficiency by 22% by 2025.

Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon, is dealing with its own water challenges by building a $9.5 million decentralized water treatment system at the brewery.

MillerCoors, meanwhile, used new tools and irrigation initiatives, along with increased brewing efficiencies, that helped it reduce its water consumption by 15 billion gallons in 2016.

And earlier this summer, beer brewer Carlsberg Group set a new goal of reducing water usage at its breweries by 50% by 2030.

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