Beer
Drinking responsibly takes on a whole new meaning when you consider the environmental impact of wines, beers, and spirits.
The alcohol industry has done a good job of handling product packaging—standard beer bottles can be reused 12 to 15 times. The Beer Store will take back any type of wine, spirit, beer, or cooler packaging. In 2008, the Store recovered over 2.1 billion containers, and typically has a bottle recovery rate of over 95 per cent. If you don’t want to take your bottles back, purchase alcohol in clear glass bottles, since it’s easier to recycle than coloured glass.
Buying boxed wine only reduces your footprint if you recycle the container: TetraPaks are lighter, requiring less fuel to ship, but Ecoholic’s Adria Vasil reports that only 14 per cent of these cartons were recycled in 2006 in Ontario. Another way to reduce your impact is to buy your “cold ones” warm, since product refrigeration can be one of the biggest contributors to a beer’s carbon footprint.
Organic alcohols are becoming more popular. Organic refers to the method of growing the ingredients within the alcohol—without the use of pesticides. Organic wines, beers, and spirits contain no added preservatives, which can mean less severe hangovers the morning after. However, that doesn’t mean that organic wines don’t contain sulfites, which occur naturally in all wines (more in dessert and white wines). Some eco-friendly wines contain organically-grown grapes, but are not wholly organic since they do contain added preservatives. A sulfite-free wine would quickly turn to vinegar.
Another environmentally friendly production method is biodynamic winemaking, which promotes biodiversity and biological activity in the soil. All wines labelled as biodynamic must meet the Demeter Association’s standards. Critics of biodynamic agriculture say that farming organically produces virtually the same quality as practicing biodynamics.
Steam Whistle Pilsner
May 2010
Steam Whistle’s Pilsner contains only four ingredients: pure spring water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. All ingredients are GMO-free but not organic. Steam Whistle bottles are thicker than standard bottles, and therefore last longer. The brewery is is bullfrogpowered and designed to be energy efficient. The brewery collects and reuses the steam it creates, and More >
Mill Street Original Organic
May 2010
Contains 100% organic ingredients and no preservatives. It’s also the first certified organic beer in Ontario. The brewery has a heat-recovery system uses steam from boiling to heat water for brewing. The organic malt used in the beer comes from Washington, and the hops come from New Zealand. However, organic malt and hops are difficult More >
Nickel Brook Organic Lager
May 2010
This beer contains no additives or preservatives, and all of its ingredients are certified organic. However, it is only available in Burlington-area Beer Stores and some LBCOs. Nickel Brook’s beers are naturally carbonated during fermentation, which is also a requirement for Canadian breweries under the National Organics Certification Program. This is because injected carbon dioxide More >
