2012 predictions for green drinks
Here are some predictions for the year ahead in green drinks:
Microdistilling takes off
True to form, Dogfish Head is ahead of the curve. The microdistillery at the restaurant in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware has been making vodka and rum, in some creative varieties (the vanilla vodka works well even with diet root beer to make a PG-13) for years.
George Washington’s estate at Mount Vernon, in Virginia, has rebuilt his distillery and now makes rye like our first president did. http://www.mountvernon.org/visit-his-estate/plan-your-visit/distillery-amp-gristmill
The New York Distilling Company is making rye and gin in New York City, and the Tuthilltown Spirits Company, in the Hudson Valley, is making bourbon, rye, and single malt whiskies and vodka http://www.tuthilltown.com/home.
Yes, bourbon is made in New York. There is a legal definition of bourbon, which does not require that it be made in Kentucky. http://www.heavenhill.co.nz/prod01_copy(6)11.htm
In Greenville, Delaware, Twin Lakes Brewing Company is talking about distilling. In Camden, New Jersey, Cooper River Distillers is planning to make vodka, rum, and whiskey from local ingredients. http://cooperriverdistillers.com/CRD/
In Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Distilling Company is making absinthe, vodka, whiskey, and gin. Pittsburgh’s Boyd and Blair is making potato vodka. On 12/22, Governor Corbett signed House Bill 242, which allows small distilleries to sell their products directly to customers at on-site tasting rooms. http://www.philly.com/philly/insights/in_the_know/20120104_New_law_is_a_pick-me-up_for_artisan-alcohol_movement_in_Pa_.html
Microdistillation probably will not quite follow the trajectory of microbrewing because liquor is more potent and more expensive and a bottle lasts longer.
Still, the green implications are that, as with craft beer, the new craft liquors will offer high quality, local flavor from local ingredients, and reduced environmental impact through reduced packaging and transportation for a price about mid-point in the range.
“Brand consolidation”
This corporate euphemism refers to the trend of large breweries buying up small breweries. In 2007, 79% of the beer sold in America came from 3 breweries: InterbrewAmBev-Anheuser-Busch, South African Breweries Miller, and Molson Coors (later bought by SABMiller to create SABMiller Coors). http://www.beer-brewing.com/beer-brewing/US_beer_industry/beer_sales.htm
79% isn’t good enough for the multinational Big Two breweries, http://beerandwhiskeybros.com/2011/09/20/sexy-data-just-whose-ass-is-craft-beer-kicking/, so they are aggressively trying to buy up small breweries http://beerandwhiskeybros.com/2011/12/19/millercoors-actively-buying-their-way-into-craft-beer-world/.
When a big brewery makes a craft beer, like Blue Moon, or buys a family-owned brewery, like Leinenkugel’s, or a regional brewery, like Rolling Rock (goodbye Latrobe, hello Newark) then it’s not local anymore.
The green implications are positive if the consolidations include energy-conserving renovations or shared resources among sites but negative if the Big Two’s distribution networks are shipping more beer for longer distances or just making the same beer at multiple sites.
Resell-reduce-reuse-recycle
Victory just did this with the bourbon barrels that it used to make Dark Intrigue. http://www.examiner.com/green-drinks-in-philadelphia/victory-reuses-bourbon-barrels You’ll see more drinks makers reselling weathered production equipment to fans – it’s good business and greener than landfilling or new-make souvenirs.
Solar is the new feed grain
Many breweries and distilleries sell their spent grains to local farmers for feed. As drinks makers move and renovate, you will see solar panels become as much a common practice.
