Last night i went to a vegiterian restraunt with my family for a birthday party. The food was good but i wouldn't go vegiterian personally. Anyway my cousin started rambling how she was going back to being a vegiterian fulltime cause beef is not enviromentally friendly. well to descibe her she is your standard liberal arts college uppermiddle class yuppy. But she drives 30 miles from Bellvue to Freemont or the university distric in seattle everynight to party and get fucking wasted. I didnt say anything cause the driving 60 miles everyday on ineffiecent roads speaks for itself in envirometnal impact. But what does the impact a brewery or distillery have on the earth. Also is this the real main issue here people who go talk about these earth saving values but then dump them to party. cause I personally save all my alluminum, glass and plastic bottles and try to recyle then go to some extreme efforts not to drive if i dont have too. But then my social life has also suffer accordingly we are only 18 months apart in age shes just turned 22 and ill be 23 and 1/2 in march
Which is your question, the actual environmental impact of a brewery, or the commitment of environmentalists?
We welcome any beer talk, nonsical or not! As to the question: the brewery has a very good impact - as long as the product has impact.
I'm a vegetarian *and* an environmentalist, so you'd think I'd have at least some idea about the impact of a brewery, but I really don't. I'm interested to see what others have to say. With regard to talking about saving the earth but then dumping those values--well, I do think that many of us forget to think about if our lifestyle matches our stated beliefs. However, I also know that fitting your lifestyle to match your beliefs is an exercise in compromising. Sure I'm an environmentalist, but rather than using no lights at all I use more efficient CFLS; rather than using no automobiles, I use public transportation. Recycling is great--I do it, I promote it, and I don't intend to stop. However, a vegetarian diet (or a really efficient car) will have a *much* greater impact on the environment than recycling will. The fossil fuels needed to raise livestock (as well as the land and water needed) is 7 to 10 times of that required to grow vegetables and grains; further, cattle are a *huge* source of methane. If you're serious about saving the environment, vegetarianism is the way to go.
Flavius, perhaps. As a homebrewer I did have to supress my laughter when taking the "brewmaster course" at Bush Gardens Williamsburg. Every time they mentioned the word "rice" I had to cover my mouth. LOL Beechwood ageing? Meh, they throw strips of the wood in the giant metal vat. They're covered with yeast, as that's how they pitch their yeast into the wort. I know I'm picking the worst possible representative of American commercial brews, but it still makes me shudder a bit. Cheers! AG
There's some pretty good beer being brewed in Mass, I'm not talking Sam Addams, but the small seasonal brands like Wass Ale and such. Pretty decent. However, whenever I hear that our favorite restaurant has Spaten on tap again, I'm there.
Best beer in Hawai'i! They're Stout is one of my favorite stouts brewed in the US (bested only by Boulevard Dry Stout, Boulevard Brewery, Kansas City, MO). And note, not all vegetarians ride some high horse about the environment. I've been a vegetarians for 10 years now, not because I assume some moral high ground on the environment, but beceause I, personally, don't enjoy benefiting from the death of animals. I don't wear leather either, and have only just recently (about 2 years ago) began eating milk & eggs. I don't, nor would I want to, let my personal choices encroach upon anyone who enjoys eating meat, wearing suede, and driving SUV's. And I'm sure I'm about to hear all manner of "we test drugs on animals" and "god put animals on this earth for us" and "blah blah blah words blah blah blah." I don't care. Yes, I'm a liberal, yes i have a college education, no I don't think i'm a snob, and no I don't pretend to assume that I know what's best for everyone. Except when it comes to beer. Boulevard Dry Stout is in everyone's interests!