Living in a place as beautiful as Anderson Valley makes us conscious of the environment and our impact on it. So we consider the environment in every single part of our business.
In 2006 we installed a large photovoltaic array (otherwise known as solar panels), providing 40% the company’s electrical needs.
The brewery recycles plastic wrap, paper, steel, glass, and plastic bottles. We also recycle cardboard from a variety of sources including damaged boxes, the top sheets used to protect the empty bottles in shipping. Organic waste is also recycled. Like many other breweries, our spent grain is used by local organic farmers for crop spray, as well as to grow mushrooms and as cattle feed.
Environmentally preferable purchasing is considered as well. Anderson Valley’s 85- and 100-barrel copper brew kettles came from two closed breweries in Germany, Ambrose Brutting Braü (Stoffelstein) and Magnus Braü (Kassendorf). The bottle glass, which comes from Owens-Brockway in Portland, has 50 percent postconsumer and 65 percent overall recycled content.
Our land is managed with the help of some furry friends. Of Anderson Valley’s approximately 30 acres of grass, about 10% is “mowed” using a team of eight goats. A non-toxic pest control system (a cat named Crystal) guards the stable and keeps rodents out.
Most recently the brewery began packaging beers in aluminum cans, a lighter and more compact packaging that requires far less energy to recycle than glass.
