OnTap Magazine

perhaps surprising, is where the large brewers’ primary focus for action lies. All the big firms make a lot of their brewing operations becoming carbon neutral, even though this attacks only a small part of the problem. They have less to say about the packaging issues that account for three times that much, and virtually nothing about how they aim to cut the environmental cost of transporting and keeping beer cool along the massive supply chains that have arisen from closing most of their local breweries. It is also noticeable that not one mentions trying to do anything to wean consumers off the habit of drinking beer at absurdly low temperatures. THE ART OF THE POSSIBLE It is not a coincidence of course that larger brewers choose to prioritise this way. Large-scale breweries that use simple processes generally find it easier to become carbon neutral than smaller ones that take a more hands-on approach to production. It is also easier to post pictures of breweries that make them look a lot more energy intense than they are. Pictures of frosted beers simply don’t hold the same fear factor. Of course craft brewers shouldn’t ignore the challenge of becoming greener. It is part of their brand to care about the planet. Their challenge is to find solutions better tailored to their circumstances, while at the same time looking out for the potentially huge opportunities that climate change mitigation might bring them. The larger brewers’ carbon issues relate mainly to having to package and protect their products over vast distances. Accepted business practice since the 1960s has been to gain efficiency by concentrating beer production into a few large factories run by a handful of staff. In practice, most of the large companies brew 95% of their beers in no more than one or two breweries per country. It is inevitable therefore that small local breweries will have the upper hand when it comes to reducing carbon miles, regardless of how many lightweight returnable bottles, recyclable wrappers and re-usable heavy duty plastic kegs and hydrogen-powered pantechnicons the big firms deploy to minimise the impact of the great distances involved. THE FROZEN WASTES The refrigeration point is even more of a headache. Nobody doubts that maintaining a reliable cold chain that runs non-stop from the brewery to the bar or store is essential to maintaining the quality of a beer. Keeping the liquid’s temperature below 12 o C – some would advocate for lower – avoids many problems. But how about the serving temperature? Several generations of beer drinker have been conditioned to expect their beers to be served ice cold. This habit is rarely questioned, yet it makes little sense. Tastier beers only start to display their fuller flavours between 8 o C and 15 o C, depending on the style. This is the temperature range in which a sound grain base and well-matched hop recipe shine best. Below this, the flavours of a well-constructed beer are often hidden. The same masking of flavour is a quality that suits many industrial lagers and some of the hazier new forms of craft beer, as these display flavours full of flaws, coming from rapid production methods in the first instance and inadequate filtering in the second. Trying to wean drinkers off the idea that beer should be drunk ice cold would inevitably mean having to make tastier beers, and that might prove a change too far. GREENWASHING THE TRUTH We are all familiar with the doubtful claims attached to many foodstuffs, suggesting that they are “good for you”, when the evidence is at best slender. A rising tide of similarly insincere claims, already affecting a wider range of consumer goods, suggests that they are “better for the planet”. For the consumer, making greener choices is not made any easier by the fact that genuinely helpful breakthroughs, aimed at improving carbon efficiency, are arriving literally every week. So what to do? For me, the big challenge facing concerned brewers, bar owners and consumers, is to try to make necessary climate change mitigation measures work to create better beers. Is that realistic? Let me float a few ideas. To reduce the carbon footprint of a South African beer's ingredients, local craft brewers will need to develop high-flavour profile beer styles that can absorb the use of sorghum and other local cereals. Also, those hop fields around George in the Western Cape are going to need to expand, which thanks to some sound investments by ABI, they might. Second, there will need to be some imaginative and mutually beneficial partnership deals done between the global companies and local brewers, by which the latter are able to develop and grow their businesses while helping the former to build and run lower-carbon supply chains to local markets that are more open to all. In the UK, I continue to make the case that by 2030, 50% of the beer sold in any outlet, be it a bar or a store, must be brewed within 50 miles (80km) of their front door, with a few exceptions made for more remote areas. What would be the South African equivalent of that? And finally, someone is going to have to bite the bullet and start explaining to beer drinkers that the reason their regular beer tastes worse as it gets warmer is that this is what it actually tastes like. I am not sure this last idea will be popular, but then often the truth is not. Discuss. 26 | Spring 2022 | ontapmag.co.za