NPR

Good News For 'Green' Brews: Consumers Say They'll Pay More For Sustainable Beer

More than 1,000 U.S. beer drinkers surveyed say they would pay about $1.30 more for a six-pack of beer if it was produced at a brewery that invests in water conservation or solar power.
Allagash employees Salim Raal, left, and Brendan McKay stack bottles of Golden Brett, a limited release beer fermented with a house strain of Brettanomyces yeast. The Maine brewery recently installed solar panels as part of its sustainability initiatives.

Breweries are quite creative these days when it comes to saving energy. Double Mountain Brewery in Oregon uses refillable beer bottles, Five & 20 Spirits and Brewing turns its waste grain and water into compost for aquaculture, and Sierra Nevada Brewing Company recovers carbon dioxide from the fermentation cycle.

Investment in energy-efficient technologies can be costly, but according to a study published last week in PLOS ONE, these investments may be worthwhile.

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