The Carbon Footprint of a 6-Pack of Fat Tire Amber Ale
At New Belgium, we’re not only passionate about great beer, it’s also important to us to try to be a role model of sustainable business practices. We’re figuring out what that means as we go along.
Conducting the Life Cycle Assessment is another chapter in the legacy of environmental stewardship begun by Kim and Jeff 17 years ago. It’s a tool to improve not just the sustainability of our company, but of our industry, too.
What is a Life Cycle Assessment?
The accounting of material and energy flows during each stage of a product’s life and the assessment of associated environmental impacts.
Why did we do it?
•To decrease our carbon footprint per barrel as we grow
•To be accountable for environmental impact throughout product lifecycle
•To get data to focus our efforts to have the biggest impact
What was the total carbon footprint?
3,189 grams of CO2e.
Now, 3,189g in and of itself is kind of a meaningless number. However, it provides a baseline to measure the results of future improvements and, most revealing, is what makes up that number. There definitely were some surprises.
Check it out: The LCA of Fat Tire
Here's to taking a step forward with our footprint.
Comments
Refrigeration at retail sites seems to
Refrigeration at retail sites seems to be a significant issue. How, if at all, does this intermediate refrigeration affect the quality and shelf-life of the beer? Is it a better idea to purchase non-refrigerated 6-packs in the event of non-immediate consumption?
Fascinating report - I thought it was
Fascinating report - I thought it was cool to see that the carbon footprint of FT is 60% smaller than the industry average. Keep up the great work!
You are just the best. I get New
You are just the best.
I get New Belgium over the "other" brands whenever possible - because of your concern for the environment.
dannf - Thanks for your question. I
dannf - Thanks for your question. I talked to the experts here and got you an answer:
Refrigeration extends beer’s shelf life and keeps it tasting good. After vigorous sensory research through our taste panel here at New Belgium, we have determined that warm storing (room temperature - not to exceed 75 degrees) Fat Tire for no more than 30 days has no discernible impact on flavor. Excessive heat and light, however, is never good for beer. So, long story short, if you have a good source for warm-stored Fat Tire, take it home, cool it down and keep it at that temp until ready to serve.
[...] Belgium has…read about it here:
[...] Belgium has…read about it here: [...]
[...] carbon is released in the air
[...] carbon is released in the air when different products are produced. For the Fat Tire beer, only seven pounds of carbon are released, thanks to the company’s commitment to reducing waste. While you might think [...]
Hi New Belgium! I was
Hi New Belgium!
I was wondering if you guys have ever considered selling beer in PET plastic bottles? They are 1/8 the weight and smaller than a glass bottle and easily recyclable in most communities.
I think the industry is waiting for 'someone else' to do it here in the US. It is fairly common in Europe, even premium brands like Pilsner Urquell have been selling beer in plastic bottles, and it will probably take a respected brand like New Belgium to make it 'okay' here.
The green story would be easy to tell...just show a truck loaded with 1000 cases of beer in glass and the same truck loaded in plastic packaging; the difference should be fairly dramatic. I think a beer bottle weighs nearly as much as the beer in it, which is kind of crazy. The savings in fuel, trucks on the road, the energy and carbon it takes to make glass bottles should be pretty easy to convey.
We 'recycle' glass here in my town only insofar as it gets picked up and taken to the landfill to be crushed on the ground by bulldozers, whereas PET actually gets recycled and reused.
Anyway, love your beer, keep up the good work,
John
Which is the lesser evil in
Which is the lesser evil in its carbon footprint: glass or aluminum? I have no car, so I transport my groceries and beer in a BobYak trailer behind my bike. My legs know that beer in glass weighs more than beer in aluminum cans. That makes me believe the trucks that move it from Colorado to Chapel Hill, NC, where I finally buy it, must produce less carbon emission when you ship beer in aluminum. But what about the carbon footprint when producing the two materials? If my high-school physics classes are any guide, both use horrendous amount of energy. My instinct is to listen to my legs and buy beer in aluminum, as rare as that is (at least for quality beer). The marketing geeks would portray canned beer as cheap stuff, used only for inebriation, but for the few quality products where I can go head-to-head on the container (ie. Fat Tire Amber Ale) , I'm struggling to taste the difference. I'll happily just shift to a lower gear and carry the glass product home, if that means less carbon in the atmosphere. But does glass achieve that?
Three cheers for asking the
Three cheers for asking the question. Although I suspect the marketing guys and gals will nearly asphyxiate. But to them I say, take a look at the wine industry: cork has given way to screw-tops and plastic - thank heavens. And you know what, the stuff inside tastes just as good. I'll happily buy beer in PET plastic bottles. Which will significantly reduce the carbon imprint of haulage. What a great idea.
I believe that the taste of a
I believe that the taste of a beer that has been rechilled is less appealing. The fresheness of the flavor of Fat Tire is what won me over. don't change a thing
Glass comes from sand a
Glass comes from sand a natural product, plastic from the petro chem monster, please stay with glass and lets all recycle. (oh and make the glass with renewable energy)
Contrary to the thought, the
Contrary to the thought, the evolution of plastics and screw-ons hurts our environment more than cork. The process of extracting cork from the trees has less a carbon footprint than producing a synthetic plug. Wish I could find the study, but not buying cork actually promotes the extinction of the cork tree...
Contrary, Pt. 2 A website
Contrary, Pt. 2
A website found on wiki's page for cork (material) goes further on a study discussing the life cycle analysis of cork. FYI
www.decanter.com/news/273366.html
Great report! It's
Great report! It's encouraging to see that people are thinking about products in context of the full scope of their lifecycle impacts. For more on the health implications of the food we consume and the products we buy listen to this clip: http://www.morethansound.net/samples/Ecological-Awareness_in_15-minutes.mp3
In the first section, Daniel Goleman talks with Dara O'Rourke, creator of Good Guide, a system that allows users to select products based on their health, environment and ethical implications. Also be sure to listen the last part, where Goleman talks with Michael Lerner about the connections between personal and planetary healing. Find out more about the series at www.morethansound.net
Michigan Brewing Company uses
Michigan Brewing Company uses growlers--1-gallon glass jugs that you pay a deposit on, wash out yourself, and go get filled up from their tap when you need to resupply.
Now if I could just get them to deliver to my door like the milkman did in my childhood, life would be great.
http://earthanet.com
Post new comment