Wastewater Practices
Wastewater is one of the biggest pollutants coming out of the brewing industry.
The wastewater issues can be divided into roughly two categories: Toxic Substances and BOD.
Believe it or not, the brewing industry over the last few decades has almost eliminated toxic substances from the brewing and cleaning process. From the caustic cleaners we use to the Powdered Brewers Wash to the sanitizers, incredible progress has been made towards reducing or even eliminating the impact of these chemicals from a biological toxicity perspective.
In fact, some of the chemicals we now use, such as StarSan for sanitization, are safe enough that humans can drink them.
The real pollution comes from BOD-intensive wastewater.
The wastewater issues can be divided into roughly two categories: Toxic Substances and BOD.
Believe it or not, the brewing industry over the last few decades has almost eliminated toxic substances from the brewing and cleaning process. From the caustic cleaners we use to the Powdered Brewers Wash to the sanitizers, incredible progress has been made towards reducing or even eliminating the impact of these chemicals from a biological toxicity perspective.
In fact, some of the chemicals we now use, such as StarSan for sanitization, are safe enough that humans can drink them.
The real pollution comes from BOD-intensive wastewater.
What is BOD?
BOD stands for Biological Oxygen Demand, and it's a measurement of the amount of dissolved oxygen needed to break down the organic solids in wastewater. BOD is usually measured as mg/L.
If high-BOD wastewater is released into the environment, the ecological results can be absolutely devastating, killing off marine life from the bottom to the top of the food chain.
To prevent this, wastewater treatment plants use aerobic organisms to break down the organic material. This means that all wastewater treatment plants can only treat a certain amount of water over any given time period based on the volume of the aerobic organism that the plant maintains.
If high-BOD wastewater is released into the environment, the ecological results can be absolutely devastating, killing off marine life from the bottom to the top of the food chain.
To prevent this, wastewater treatment plants use aerobic organisms to break down the organic material. This means that all wastewater treatment plants can only treat a certain amount of water over any given time period based on the volume of the aerobic organism that the plant maintains.
So what about your wastewater?
Not only do we use a fraction of the water of a craft beer brewery, our wastewater is so clean by comparison that it actually boosts the efficiency of our local wastewater treatment plant.
According to most sources, a craft beer brewery can anticipate a BOD load of around 10,000 mg/L. Considering that an average house is around 100-150 mg/L, you can see just how dramatically a beer brewery can increase the load on a treatment plant.
We test our wastewater annually using a 5-day breakdown test. Our most recent results were 84mg/L or less than 1% of a beer brewery! That report is available in its entirety right here.
The reason for this has to do, primarily, with the lack of particulate, soil load, alcohol, and residual sugar we send down the drain.
For many environmental activists in Vermont, this is the number one reason they choose to drink mead instead of beer.
According to most sources, a craft beer brewery can anticipate a BOD load of around 10,000 mg/L. Considering that an average house is around 100-150 mg/L, you can see just how dramatically a beer brewery can increase the load on a treatment plant.
We test our wastewater annually using a 5-day breakdown test. Our most recent results were 84mg/L or less than 1% of a beer brewery! That report is available in its entirety right here.
The reason for this has to do, primarily, with the lack of particulate, soil load, alcohol, and residual sugar we send down the drain.
For many environmental activists in Vermont, this is the number one reason they choose to drink mead instead of beer.
Our friends at The Alchemist Brewery
We also wanted to say that some breweries, like The Alchemist in Stowe, Vermont go out of their way to reduce the impact of their wastewater on the public system.
The Alchemist actually installed a two million dollar treatment plant simply because it's the right thing to do.
The Alchemist actually installed a two million dollar treatment plant simply because it's the right thing to do.
