Cheers to Conservation - Angel City Brewery joins in the Council for Watershed Health's 20th Ann

Angel City Brewery represents how maintaining local pride and environmental awareness within its business model can work to foster a superb product. Council for Watershed Health is excited to partner with neighbor Angel City Brewery, working toward our shared goals of fostering environmental consciousness and stewardship.

Angel City Brewery, located in the up-and-coming Arts District in the heart of Los Angeles, exemplifies the innovative, forward-looking way of thinking that the 21st Century demands. Angel City’s practices work to reduce the water consumption generally associated with beer-brewing, without compromising the quality of their product. Through their environmentally-conscious practices, Angel City has been able to effectively reduce their water use to about half of that of the average brewery by using around 3.5 gallons of water per gallon of finished beer as compared to the average brewery’s 7-8 gallons per gallon. Angel City’s unique system works by running cold water though a Counter Flow Chiller that simultaneously has the wort – the liquid that will become beer once yeast is added – running in the opposite direction. The system then uses the heated water as a base for the next batch of beer, rather than allowing it to become runoff. This process conserves water as well as energy, as it uses existing heat rather than requiring more in order to heat up a new batch of water.

In addition to conserving water and energy wherever possible, Angel City prioritizes waste reduction. Instead of diverting the spent grain to a landfill, the brewery sends most of it to a local farmer who uses it to feed his herd of cows. The remainder is either sent to a local baker, who turns them into dog treats, or upstairs to Angel City Brewery’s own rooftop hop garden. The material provides nutrients to grow over 20 bines of hops, pomegranates, mint, tomatoes, dragonfruit, passion fruit, and many more plants – all while using less than one barrel of water per year for the whole garden through the brewery’s unique drip-and-capture irrigation system.

Angel City Brewery demonstrates an successful business model , with a commitment to conservation down to the smallest details; the brewery has taken steps to reduce wasted drinking water by offering smaller cups to guests, and siphoning the runoff into a dog bowl. It also boasts low-flow bathroom fixtures and an air-cooled rather than water-cooled ice machine. Even with these notable strides, Angel City continually tracks and makes effort to further reduce its water usage each month. Angel City Brewery prides itself on “creativity, culture, and craft,” and their approach to conservation in a time and place with increasing necessity for such practices takes these values and, hopefully, inspires others to embody the same commitments. Council for Watershed Health looks forward to our continued partnership with Angel City Brewery in our common effort to make a positive impact on our environment.

Tickets are still available for this Saturday's event - http://bit.ly/2am1XAz