Clean Water = Great Beer! A Conversation with Jenn Vervier




The Water Values Podcast show

Summary: In the third session of The Water Values Podcast (and first recorded), I welcome Jenn Vervier, the Director of Sustainability and Strategic Development for New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado. Jenn shared a tremendous amount of information about New Belgium’s conservation and sustainability efforts as they relate to direct and indirect use of water in the brewing process, to the water-energy nexus, and to society in general. She provided a fantastic interview and displayed great knowledge of New Belgium’s water processes and substantial efforts on the water sustainability front. In this Session, You’ll Learn about: New Belgium’s sustainability focus and unique and refreshing approach to business What hard-piping a brewery means and why it conserves water The rise in popularity of hoppy beers and why those hoppy beers are very water intensive to brew The water footprint of a glass of New Belgium beer The importance of water quality to the brewing process The factors New Belgium considered when siting its second brewery and the location of that second brewery The water-saving processes New Belgium has implemented in its brewery New Belgium’s waste water treatment process and its place in the water-energy nexus New Belgium’s water philanthropy and activism Resources and Links Mentioned in this Session Include: Colorado House Bill 13-1044 authorizing graywater use under certain conditions: http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2013a/csl.nsf/fsbillcont/7A5BB9369AB7D2F787257AEE005725A9?Open&file=1044_01.pdf Colorado Graywater Rule Promulgation Information (i.e., Reg 86): http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/CDPHE-WQ/CBON/1251630013219 Save the Colorado: http://savethecolorado.org/ NRDC’s Brewers for Clean Water: http://www.nrdc.org/water/brewers-for-clean-water/ Jenn’s “Clean Water is Good for Business, and for Beer!” post on The Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jenn-vervier/clean-water-act_b_1434511.html www.newbelgium.com New Belgium on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Belgium-Brewing-Company/108014059227334 New Belgium on Twitter: @newbelgium Transcript Click here to download the Transcript for Session 3 of The Water Values Podcast Thank You! Thank you to so many people for helping get The Water Values Podcast off the ground! Your help and encouragement has been instrumental in this endeavor!