Vermont craft brewers have launched an alliance to raise awareness about what the industry can do to protect water resources.
The initiative makes Vermont the fourth state to formally involve beer makers in conversations about water quality, according to VTDigger.
The main purpose of the Brewshed is to raise awareness among brewers and beer drinkers about the steps producers can take to reduce their environmental impact, according to Brian Shupe, executive director of the VNRC.
“All of the breweries we’ve brought on board have made a commitment to clean water,” said Shupe. “They understand that it’s important to them, regardless of what their source of water is and they want to help us to do our work to serve Vermont and keep its waters clean.”
“It’s a way to highlight that environmental protection and economic development are not mutually exclusive,” added Shupe. “They are actually reliant on each other.”
The initiative launched with five breweries on board and VNRC is looking for more to join the alliance, according to VTDigger. The only requirement for membership is that beer makers make a commitment to clean water and that they are in compliance with all existing water quality and wastewater management standards.
A big part of what breweries can do to lower their environmental impact is manage wastewater responsibly, according to Nick Giannetti, the pretreatment program coordinator of the Department of Environmental Conservation’s wastewater program.
“It exerts a much higher demand on the wastewater treatment facility,” said Giannetti.
Giannetti hopes the Brewshed will promote side streaming, which several of the alliance’s founding members already implement, according to VTDigger.