Earth, wind and beer: It’s not what you think

FORT COLLINS – Northern Colorado’s small brewers have long been giving a new meaning to the term “green beer” through various environmentally minded projects, but there’s something bigger brewing just north of Fort Collins.

Anheuser-Busch’s Fort Collins brewery has been implementing a number of practices aimed at reducing waste and supporting sustainability – ranging from fueling its transportation fleet with biodiesel to a potential solar power project to generate electricity to help produce the 9 million barrels of beer it makes annually.

In April, the brewery began converting all of its Fort Collins vehicles to use biodiesel and filling them up from its own fueling sites at the facility. The program is actually a pilot for the whole company – if it proves to work well, it could be implemented at the other 11 A-B breweries around the country.

SPONSORED CONTENT

Select your Republic Services residential cart now!

In preparation for Republic Services becoming the primary provider of residential recycling, yard trimmings, and trash, residents should now select the best cart size and service schedule for their household needs.

While many companies are turning to biodiesel as an environmental conscious fuel choice, A-B is taking it a step further. The company is in the early stages of a program that could eventually produce its own biodiesel from crops it grows.

Several miles east of the brewery, in Weld County, A-B operates a seven-acre farm irrigated with water used in the brewing process. Senior Plant Manager Glenn Wilson said that until recently the farm was growing cattle feed crops such as silage and haylage. However, last year a seed of an idea was sown at the brewery.

“Their corporate headquarters was interested in producing energy crops,´ said Colorado State University Soil and Crop Sciences professors Dwayne Westfall. So the brewery and the university began the Renewable Fuel Crop Development project.

Growing fuel

In the spring, the Anheuser farm was planted with biofuel crops, such as canola, camelina, safflower and soybeans. Through a grant from A-B, Westfall and colleague Jerry Johnson are monitoring how the crops interact with A-B’s “unique environment.”

Westfall explained that the irrigation water from the brewery has high nutrient and organic content, especially rich in nitrogen. Westfall said CSU will monitor how well the crops grow as well as how well the plants process the nitrogen. CSU will also evaluate the quantity and quality of oil produced by the crops.

Westfall said the project is mutually beneficially as it will add data to research that he and Johnson are already conducting on other farms. He also sees it as a long-term program that will grow in scope.

“Eventually, we’ll expand to other crops,” he said, possibly switch grass and ethanol-specific corn varieties.

Westfall said he has been working with the brewery’s farming operations for some time now.

“The main objective is removal of nitrogen from the system,” he said.

Plants need nitrogen in their metabolic process. The situation, therefore, becomes a win-win, with the nitrogen output from the brewery becoming an input for its crops. Westfall deems the program a model of beneficial nutrient use.

For A-B, it’s also a chance to add back to the fuel supply.

“It’s going to be a nice closed loop,” Wilson said.

Other energy projects

The biodiesel research isn’t the only environmentally minded project going on at the A-B farm. The brewery is in the process of getting permits from Weld County to install a wind turbine, perhaps within the next month.

The single turbine will be used to collect data to determine if the wind speeds would be sufficient to power the large pumps used to irrigate the farmland.

The Fort Collins brewery is also looking at a possible solar energy project to produce electricity.

“We’re aggressively pursuing that right now,” Wilson said.

He added that the company is already working with a couple of solar companies, but declined to name them yet. The scope of the project is still not defined, but Wilson did say that it could extend beyond the brewery.

“We are looking at some big solutions that could put power on the grid,” he said, adding that such projects are part of a long-term plan.

A-B will likely have some type of solar project up and running in the near future. Wilson said that the company is in the process of working out the engineering and evaluating the benefits right now.

While A-B is obviously testing the waters with several developing technologies, the company has had a commitment to the environment for some time, Wilson said. Proof of its commitment dates back to the late 1800s, when founder Adolphus Busch began recycling spent grain for cattle feed.

“Leave the place better than you found it,” Wilson said. “We’ve just always had that as part of our philosophy.”

For years, the Fort Collins A-B brewery has been catching and reusing its carbon dioxide emission. Two years ago, the brewery invested in a purification system that intensified its efforts.

“We’re close to being self-sufficient on CO2,” Wilson said.

About seven years ago, the company decided to focus efforts on an aggressive recycling program.

“The goal is to recycle 100 percent of everything we bring into the brewery,” Wilson explained. “We’re at 99.4 percent right now.”

The company is constantly looking for new ways to recycle its waste – including waste beer. Wilson said the brewery recently received funding for a project to distill it into 200-proof alcohol that will be used in the ethanol/gasoline mix known as E-85.

Brewers become mentors

A-B is a member of the city’s Climate Wise program. The goal of the program, launched in 2000, is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by promoting waste reduction, energy savings, alternative transportation, water conservation and pollution prevention. A-B, along with New Belgium Brewing Co. Inc. and Odell Brewing Co., joined the program in its inaugural year.

“They’re doing some great work, all of the breweries that are in the Climate Wise program,´ said coordinator Kathy Collier. “They are very active and contribute significantly to the program.”

Collier added that the breweries also make great mentors to other businesses looking to get involved.

New Belgium’s environmental efforts have national renown – from being the first brewery in the nation to purchase 100 percent of its electric use in wind-power credits to installing its own wastewater treatment facility. Over the years, Odell Brewing has also implemented a number of initiatives aimed at being more environmentally friendly.

The brewery is also purchasing 100 percent of its electric consumption in wind- power credits and is using Blue Sun Biodiesel in its trucks.

Five years ago, Odell Brewing joined the city’s “Hot Shot Box” program. It was designed for residential power customers to allow the city of Fort Collins to remotely turn off their electric hot water heaters during peak demand times.

Odell Brewing’s involvement is a little different. The brewery allows the city to turn off one of its cooling units on a fermentation tank during peak demand times. Brewery owner Doug Odell explained that having one of its units down for one or two hours is not an issue as far as business is concerned. In fact, he estimates that the company saves as much as $400 per month by reducing its own peak demand electricity usage.

Odell said that the company is continuously evaluating ways it can improve its efforts.

“We’re a manufacturing company, and we realize that we have the potential to have a significant environmental impact,´ said Odell. “It feels like our civic and environmental duty to reduce that impact.”