Making non-alcoholic beer more sustainably Waterways are also increasingly polluted, which affects the quality of water used to make beer. Changes in weather, resulting in droughts, flooding, wildfires, and more intense hurricanes, tornadoes, and so forth can all lead to crop losses and higher costs of production. The irony, of course, is that all those emissions lead to climate change, and climate change imperils the raw ingredients for beer, such as barley and hops. Why? Probably because dealcoholizing beer requires more energy than making a low-alcohol beer in the first place. Interestingly, non-alcoholic beer had a slightly larger carbon footprint (0.76 kg) than low-alcohol beer. Regular-strength beer, in contrast, clocked in at 0.81 kg CO2e, while spirits came in at 2.07 kg, wine at 2.16 kg, and fortified wine at 2.38 kg CO2e per liter. In Sweden, low-alcohol beer had a footprint of 0.73 kg CO2e per liter, largely because Swedes tend to buy low-alcohol beers made locally, rather than importing them from far away. What’s more, the carbon footprint of low- or non-alcoholic beer was just a third of that of wine. ![]() This despite women drinking more wine and men drinking more beer, because, as it turns out, wine has a much higher carbon footprint than beer. Men had almost twice the alcohol footprint of women in Sweden (68 kg CO2e annually compared to 36 kg CO2e for women). According to RISE, Sweden’s research institute and innovation partner, alcohol accounts for roughly 3% of Swedes’ food and drink carbon footprint. ![]() The good news is that non-alcoholic beer has a lower impact, both on your liver and the environment. The environmental impact of non-alcoholic beer Add refrigeration, transportation and packaging that’s not always recyclable or recycled and you can see how beer is a wasteful, carbon heavy indulgence. Transporting huge amounts of grains and hops also means lots of trucks on the road (those some breweries favor rail, like Sierra Nevada), and then lots of waste if the spent grains and hops aren’t used to feed animals or for biogas capture.īrewing is also an energy intensive process, with heating and cooling, followed by bottling, canning, or kegging. Just growing barley and hops can wreak havoc on waterways, soil health, and biodiversity. That carbon footprint comes by way of growing, harvesting and transporting raw materials like barley and hops, processing the beer, packaging and transporting beer worldwide, and then serving it and discarding packaging. See also: The most eco-friendly & sustainable mezcals and our top picks for eco-friendly wine. In 2018, the FCRN reported that the manufacture, packaging, and transportation of alcohol in Sweden generated 52 kg CO2 per person annually. Show more (8 items) How sustainable is non-alcoholic beer?Ī 2007 study by the Food Climate Research Network (the FCRN) found that alcohol production, storage and consumption generated approximately 1.5% of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions. I’ve rigorously taste-tested many non-alcoholic beers over the past couple of years while trying to conceive, pregnant, and nursing and, honestly, I’m a total convert! I barely drink any alcohol at all now and don’t miss it, thanks in large part to the tasty beers below.Ī quick note: State regulations prohibit the shipping and sale of non-alcoholic beer in Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Mississippi, and Nebraska, so you might have to petition your legislators to try these beers if you live in one of these states. In short, yes! Here are some of the best sustainable non-alcoholic beers around.
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