Overseas companies own most of Australia’s best-known beer brands. Australians drink 69 million litres of beer each year and throw away an estimated 17 billion bottles and cans. Fewer than half get recycled. Drinks containers rank as the country’s third most littered items, according to Clean Up Australia.
Who Owns the Brands
Japanese conglomerate Asahi Group Holdings owns Carlton Draught, Victoria Bitter (VB), Great Northern, Balter and Mountain Goat. Kirin Holdings owns XXXX, Tooheys, Hahn, James Boag, Little Creatures and Stone and Wood.
Asahi says it buys 100% renewable electricity for its Australian and overseas breweries and offices. It aims to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. Kirin targets 100% renewable electricity by 2040 and net zero by 2050.
Australian breweries and drinks companies are trying different brewing methods, renewable energy and reusable containers to cut production and transport emissions, as well as packaging waste. Their projects range from changing grain production and brewery power supplies to reusing beer containers.
Bodriggy Brewing Company senior brewer Andrew Joseph said, “sustainable brewing is the future of brewing in Australia”. The Melbourne brewery became the second Australian and first Victorian brewery to earn carbon-neutral certification through the federal government’s voluntary Climate Active program.
Bodriggy bought carbon credits to offset emissions, an approach the article describes as contentious. It plans to cut emissions by a further 30% by 2030.
Changes on the Production Line
The brewery recently bought its own grain silo to reduce delivery frequency. It also worked with packing manufacturer Pactec to design and create reusable keg lids. Future goals include introducing e-water, a sustainable cleaning technology, and moving to an electric vehicle fleet.
Joseph said consumers could push other breweries to act. “If the consumers can push for a sustainable product and voice their opinions on sustainable practices, then I think that will inspire other breweries to become more green.”
Barley production and malting add to beer’s environmental footprint. Growing barley takes fertilisers and energy-intensive machinery, while malting can use substantial amounts of water.
Adelaide University researchers are working with Coopers Brewery to see whether certain barley cultivars could make malting more efficient. Strains that dry faster could cut energy use during kilning, a stage that typically relies on gas.
Prof Matthew Tucker, director of the Waite Research Institute at Adelaide University, said: “The cheapest energy and the greenest energy is the one that you don’t need to use. By improving the barley cultivars that go into making beer, we can reduce the energy and resources needed for production, making it more sustainable and economical.”
Power, Fermentation and Reuse
Young Henrys, a Newtown craft brewery in Sydney, installed 30kW of solar in 2016 with help from community investors. It buys 100% renewable electricity for its extra power needs.
The brewery is working with researchers at the University of Technology Sydney on a small reactor to capture carbon emissions from beer fermentation. The reactor pumps carbon dioxide into bioreactors, where algae turns it into oxygen through photosynthesis. Researchers mix the protein-rich algae with spent grain, a brewing byproduct, to make livestock feed.
Researchers tried the feed with 80 head of sheep, which appeared to enjoy it. They slaughtered the sheep, and a testing panel that tasted the lamb thought the algae improved both the meat’s flavour and its omega-3 content.
In the project’s fifth stage, researchers hope to identify a livestock species that reduces methane emissions while benefiting animal health, productivity and product quality. Young Henrys director Richard Adamson said: “If we can do methane reduction in both the brewing process and in the animal, whilst improving omega-3s at the same time, we’re really on to something that’s going to be quite viable”.
Some breweries and pubs let customers take draft beer home in reusable growlers: 1.89-litre flasks that can be washed and refilled, typically holding about a six-pack’s worth of beer. A 900ml squealer is a smaller option. Directories such as Beer Crawl help people find local venues offering growler refills.