Carbon Negative Beer: A Step Towards a Decarbonized Society

In recent years, there has been a growing call for a carbon-free society. Carbon offsetting is an important part of achieving this goal. However, it is also true that there are cases where the activities are actually contributing to the conservation of the natural environment, and cases where offsetting is being carried out without any substance.

Gipsy Hill Brewing, a small, independent brewery based in the UK, has overcome the uncertainty surrounding carbon offsetting by offsetting its carbon emissions in-house, and is successfully achieving carbon negative status.

The company has launched two carbon-negative beers, Swell and Trail, which have been tracked for their carbon footprint throughout their lifecycle, from farm to glass: Swell has managed to sequester 40 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent per pint, while Trail has managed to sequester 30 grams of carbon per pint.

Source: Gipsy Hill Brew YouTube

Regenerative Agriculture: A Key to Carbon Negative Beer

There are two main secrets to brewing carbon-negative beer. The first is the adoption of regenerative agriculture. The company has partnered with Wildfarmed, an organization that leads the transition to regenerative agriculture in the UK, to grow barley, one of the ingredients. This makes it possible to store a lot of carbon in the soil.

According to Wildfarmed, regenerative agriculture is an agricultural method that prioritizes maintaining soil health and restoring biodiversity and ecosystems, and aims to avoid monoculture and to use agricultural methods in harmony with nature.

Recovery and Reuse of Hops: Reducing Carbon Footprint

The second is the recovery and reuse of hops. In traditional breweries, hops added at the end of the boil are used for flavoring, so the bitter and resinous flavors characteristic of hops are not extracted and are discarded.

Gipsy Hill has focused on this issue and decided to start recovering discarded hops. By recovering and reusing hops within the facility, the carbon footprint of the process is zero. Also, by reusing hops, the amount of hops that needs to be grown is reduced, which has also succeeded in reducing the burden on the environment.

Measuring and Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions

These efforts are being carried out by Zevero, a company that helps companies measure, reduce and report on their greenhouse gas emissions. Gipsy Hill investigates and tracks the percentage of greenhouse gas emissions at each stage of its production, from raw materials, packaging, processing, transportation, use, and disposal, and publishes the results on its website.

A Step Towards a Decarbonized Society

Carbon negative initiatives that do not rely on offsets are a step further than carbon neutral and are a powerful approach to realizing a decarbonized society. We hope that support for carbon negative initiatives will spread among both companies and citizens as an effort to prevent environmental problems from being passed on to future generations.

We may be on the verge of a world where spending time chatting with friends over a beer is a peaceful experience that improves the natural environment.

Tagged with: Circular economy, UK, carbon negative, social good, decarbonization, London, regenerative agriculture, beer, reuse, carbon footprint, carbon neutral, carbon offset, social good, reuse