The Carolina’s first beer brewed with recycled water now on sale

Charlotte Water, Town Brewing and Xylem have teamed up to release Renew Brew in select locations in Charlotte and across the state.

Charlotte Water announced on December 12, 2024, that the beer, which uses ultra-sustainable recycled water, will be available for purchase.

Renew Brew uses QC Water, which is a sustainable source of clean water derived from recycled wastewater. According to Charlotte Water, it goes through state-of-the-art carbon filtering, reverse osmosis and advanced oxidation (ozone and ultraviolet treatment).

A portion of proceeds from the sales will go to Helping Hands Outreach (H2O Foundation), a Charlotte-based nonprofit dedicated to making clean water more accessible, affordable and reliable for all Charlotteans.

“We feel so honored that Renew Brew has already become a favorite among beer drinkers in our community and can’t wait to see more people be introduced to it,” said Town Brewing Head Brewer Frederico De La Torre in a press release. “It can take anywhere from four to eight gallons of water to make one gallon of beer. And in a world where it is increasingly more important to practice sustainability and be really cognizant of our natural resources and not wasting them, we jumped at an opportunity to be involved in a project like Renew Brew.”

Renew Brew starts with Charlottes QC Water from Charlotte Water’s McDowell Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), which is said to exceed all pathogen reduction requirements and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines through the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The production process is monitored to meet specific criteria specified by Charlotte Water based on the SDWA.

QC Water was tested for more than 150 potential contaminants.

Xylem supplied post-plant polishing treatment equipment and oversight of additional treatment operations.

“Addressing water scarcity in our communities and planning for the future is a critical part of our business,” said Xylem Director of Vertical Marketing for Drinking Water Utilities Chris Thomson in a press release. “Renew Brew has opened the door for other renewable beverages in the Carolinas, and we are thrilled to be part of the first chapter of what we know will be a long and important story.”

Renew Brews’ goal is to conserve water and add value to the city’s craft beer industry. Charlotte Water and its partners want to make Renew Brew available to those breweries and stores interested in promoting water reuse and educating the public about conservation initiatives.

“Usually, highly treated effluent from one of our wastewater treatment plants would be discharged into a nearby creek, so we’re incredibly excited it now has the capacity to be transformed into a water source for beer,” said Charlotte Water Director Angela Charles in a press release. “The partnership with Town Brewing and Xylem has been fantastic because we all share the same goals of creating a very high-quality water product while focusing on environmental stability every step of the way.”

How Renew Brew is made using recycled water

According to a QC Water fact sheet, the water goes through a state-of-the-art cleansing process. For QC Water’s smaller batches, the following purification steps are implemented:

1. The water goes through the standard wastewater treatment process at the McDowell Creek Water Resource Recovery Facility. Water leaving Charlottes McDowell Creek facility meets high national standards before returning to the Catawba River. Charlotte Water processes 85 MGD.
2. Carbon filtration: Water is filtered through activated carbon media to reduce both solids and organic contaminants.
3. Reverse osmosis: Membranes remove salt, organics, trace pollutants and remaining pathogens.
4. Ozone oxidation: Oxidants are produced on-site and on-demand, then transferred to the water being treated to kill pathogens and destroy trace pollutants.
5. Ultraviolet disinfection: UV light is used to disinfect and remove 99.9999% of viruses and pathogens from the water and irradiate other contaminants.
6. Another carbon filtering round: Water is filtered a second time through activated carbon media.
7. Water testing and approval: Water moves through rigorous testing to ensure it exceeds the highest water quality standards for human consumption as set by the EPA.
8. Brew time: Approved QC Water is delivered to brewers for the brewing process, including mashing, lautering, boiling, chilling, fermentation, testing and packaging for consumption.