Gloucester Brewery serves up planet-friendly beers in bid to go carbon neutral
Earth-conscious brewing is at the heart of expansion plans at Gloucester Brewery aimed at taking the business and its environmental commitment to the next level.
The brewery has made a pledge to be carbon neutral by 2022 and it is transforming all elements of the business with sustainability in mind.
It is looking at its whole brewing process, supply chain, energy use and how it delivers its beers to lessen its impact on the environment.
A range of Vegan-friendly special beers will also be produced in 2020 made from leftover bread from a Gloucestershire bakery. These will add to its already growing range of beers suitable for Vegans.
Video courtesy of Still Moving Media
This is alongside its plans to double brewing capacity to around 800,000 pints by the end of 2020 as well as opening a new bar and creating their own range of gins.
It is also transforming the upper floors of the brewery at Fox’s Kiln to create a stunning future event space.
Founder of Gloucester Brewery Jared Brown said: “We are shaping a really exciting future at the brewery. Very early on, we knew that this future had to be a sustainable one and we are fully committed to our Earth-conscious brewing pledge, looking at every part of what we do to see how we can do it better when it comes to the environment.
“From our energy supply, to the cars and vans we drive and even the material our T-shirts and beer mats are printed on; we are working hard to meet our deadline of being carbon neutral by 2022.”
Environmental consultancy Sustainable Direction is helping the brewery address its carbon footprint.
Owner and director John Henry Looney said: “We are delighted to be working with Gloucester Brewery to help them become carbon neutral.
“The first thing we have been doing is looking at the brewing process itself and how that can be made more energy efficient and also sourcing energy from a renewable source.
“We are then looking at the whole life cycle of the brewery. Every part of the supply chain has carbon emissions from the growing of the barley and hops to the malting and transportation of the ingredients and it’s about what we can do to reduce this. The brewery is also addressing how it can lower its own emissions delivering the finished beer to pubs and shops.
”What’s so great about Gloucester Brewery is they do not just want to learn how to make a difference, they are actually committed to doing it and we are really pleased to be helping them on this journey.”
It has already made its first beer from leftover bread and it is working on the range of special beers for next year using surplus loaves from the Authentic Bread Company in Newent.
Bread is made from grains such as barley, wheat and rye, the same raw materials that are used to make beer. The brewery mashes the bakery’s leftover bread into the mix and replaces some of the malted barley traditionally used in brewing.
Emily Crewe, Commercial Manager for the Authentic Bread Company, said: “Being an organic producer, sustainability and environmental sensitivity is at the core of what we do. We all strive towards a zero-waste neutrality but are delighted that the little waste that we cannot avoid is put to such a worthwhile, and of course delicious, cause.”
As part of its commitment to climate change, the brewery is also joining forces with Gloucestershire environmental charity Vision 21 on a new sustainable food project in the city in 2020.
You can find out more at gloucesterbrewery.co.uk and join its pledge using #earthconsciousbrewing.
