In 2006, a beer activist (yes, there’s such a thing) named Chris
O’Brien wrote a book called “Fermenting Revolution: How to Drink Beer
and Save the World”. It spread the powerful message that any old
beer-swilling consumer can have a huge impact on mama earth simply by
crushing a can of the stuff. The beer industry relies on burning
fossil fuels and chemical agriculture, which hurt the environment and
contribute to climate change. The cool thing about O’Brien’s book is
that he traces the path of beer brewing from a woman led, home based
craft all the way to a corporate industry that is destroying the
earth.

Supporting local and celebrating nature makes a huge
difference. After all, it’s a pretty powerful substance – it’s
contributed to the best qualities of civilizations, and at the same
time, causes you drunk dial your ex boyfriends at 4 AM. Don’t be a
drunk-dialler, be a beer activist! Buy local! When you can, support
independent craft breweries that use local, organic ingredients.
Unfortunately, sustainable breweries are few and far between. But
these three breweries are leading by example, and hopefully the rest
of the country will follow!

TORONTO – Steam Whistle Brewery (255 Bremner Boulevard)

About the brewery: If you gulp the green bottled pilsner, you’re
already doing the environment a favour.  The brewery was named one of
Canada’s Green Employers on Earth Day, April 22nd, 2010. Their
building, (Bullfrog powered since 2007), may look old school, but
their equipment is totally state of the art and has reduced their
waste water output by 1/3. The Good Beer Folks have been known to send
all leftover food to local street missions or women’s shelters in the
city. On top of that, all their packaging – cartons, bottle caps, and
shrink wrap, are recycled. They even send their spent grain to farmers
for animal feed.

Fun factoids: The distinctive bottle is a replica of the industry
standard from the 1950’s, and not only is it super cute, but it can be
reused up to 35 times! Paper is also saved by painting the label
directly on the bottle. Check the bottom side of it to see the little
“3FG” which stands for three fired guys, because the company was
founded by 3 dudes who lost their jobs when Upper Canada was bought
out by Sleeman.

The Beer: Steam Whistle really does know how to do one thing really,
really well. The pilsner only contains 4 ingredients – pure spring
water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. This means it fits with the
German Beer Purity law of 1516 (“Reinheitsgebot”) that was designed to
ensure that drinkers got the purest, best quality brew.

MONTREAL – Labatt Brewery (7277 Rue Cordner)

About the brewery: Pretty recently, Labbatt made huge changes to their
brewery in La Salle to make it significantly sustainable. Between 2005
– 2007, it reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by 44%, water
consumption by 36% and fuel used in making beer by 30% and electricity
by 6%. It also recovers more than 95% of its consumer containers and
related materials. The LaSalle brewery is the only one of Labatts 6
breweries that treats its own water.

Fun factoids: The brewery sends all their spent grains to farmers for
animal feed, and it was estimated that the brewery fed 2,300 cows in
2007!

The Beer: This brewery makes 60 brands of beer, including Labatt Blue,
Kokanee, Keiths and Budweiser. If you’re a 4 dollar domestics kinda
gal, you probably know some of these well. Blue has a citrus flavour
with a hint of spice, Bud is crisp with a hint of banana on the nose.

VANCOUVER – Turning Point Brewery (401 Fraser View Pl)

About the brewery: Touted as Canada’s first sustainable brewery,
Turning Point was originally founded in 1897 as a recognizable
landmark next to the entrance of Stanley Park. 113 years later, they
are the country’s first sustainable brewery. They pride themselves on
their cutting edge technology, as they’re made of almost entirely
stainless steel, and powered by a 110 ft. wind turbine. Here, only 7
litres of water is needed to make 1 litre of beer, versus an industry
standard of about 12.

Fun factoids: The brewery is expected to be completely energy self
sufficient within 5 – 10 years.

The Beer: The signature brew, Stanley Park 1897 Amber, is an even
balance of malt and hops with a touch of caramel and a clean finish.
Amber’s are said to be the most complex and distinctive brews and the
most difficult to craft. It even comes in its own custom bottles,
which are supposed to have a better hand feel than regular ones.