Drink Your Greens

Lots of breweries celebrate St. Patrick's Day by adding green color to their beer.

Gross!

Thankfully there are some that make truly "green" beer by taking the chemicals out. What began as an organic beer boom is now a full-blown eco-friendly movement. Whether it's chemical-free green ingredients or solar- and wind-powered breweries, green-minded manufacturers help make it feel like St. Paddy's all year around. This year, tap into the luck of the Irish by drinking a real green beer from one of our lucky seven faves.

New Belgium Brewing: Who would have thought the producer of a beer called Fat Tire could be so eco-friendly, but this Fort Collins, Colo.-based brewery is one of the greenest of all. Each stage of the brewing process is set up for maximum energy efficiency. For example, gas from their wastewater treatment facility is reused to generate about 10 percent of the site's electricity, while the rest comes from wind farms. New Belgium even purchases renewable energy credits. No wonder it takes 20 pages to list all their green activities in the company's 2007 Sustainability Report. Started in 1991, this award-winning brewery produces such beers as Blue Paddle, Skinny Dip, Sunshine Wheat and Abbey.

Anderson Valley Brewing Company: There's nothing like a cold brew on a hot day, except maybe a cold brew made on a hot day. Located in California's Mendocino County, the brewery is partly powered by solar energy. Their giant system, which cost nearly $1 million, provides up to 40 percent of AVBC's energy needs. In May, the company will also hold the 13th Annual Legendary Boonville Beer Festival, which to date has donated nearly $400,000 to local organizations like the Navarro River Resource Center, Anderson Valley Historical Society and the Anderson Valley ElderHome. AVBC beers include Boont Amber Ale, Hop Ottin' IPA and Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema.

Brooklyn Brewery: This brewery says it best on their website with the line, "There's wind in our ales!" Nearly six years ago, Brooklyn Brewery became the first NYC company to switch to 100 percent wind-generated electricity. In its two decades, the Williamsburg-based brewery has grown into one of the top 40 breweries in the country, thanks in large part to its bestselling Brooklyn Lager. And for all our New York readers, remember that buying local brews cuts down on the fossil fuels needed to deliver beer to your neighborhood bar or fridge.

Otter Creek Brewing Company: This Vermont brewery, beloved for its 100 percent organic Wolaver's Brown Ale, easily ranks among the greenest companies. Otter Creek's efficiencies include using recycled board and paper for its boxes, running its boiler system of biodiesel, utilizing heat recovery, treating all wastewater, using mostly local ingredients and using spent grain to feed local livestock.

Sierra Nevada: This popular California brewery utilizes co-generation fuel cell power units and goes to great lengths to capture and reuse any released energy. Sierra Nevada, however, is best known for its incredible efforts to reduce waste. The multi-year winner of California's WRAP Award (Waste Reduction Awards Program) recycles about 98 percent of its total waste and clamps down on wasteful practices that allow it to use about half as much water as other breweries. Sierra Nevada, a member of the California Climate Action Registry, is even on its way to becoming 100 percent solar powered.

Great Lakes Brewing Co.: Cleveland is best known for LeBron James and the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame, but environmentalist beer hounds know the city for this eco-friendly brew master. Dedicated to energy efficiency and recycling, this brewery even runs its delivery trucks on vegetable oil. Great Lakes, whose beers include Blackout Stout and Conway's Irish Ale, is guided by its Triple Bottom Line philosophy to "Take, Make and Remake" that's reflected in the logo's three wavy lines. The brewery, which also supports urban gardens, is striving to create a 100 percent "closed loop" to eliminate all waste.

Coors Brewing Company: Coors is not in the same green league as the other breweries listed here, but they deserve credit for being more eco-friendly than its big-name rivals. For starters, this Colorado-based brewery led the industry's shift from steel to recyclable aluminum in '59 and then offered cash incentives for customers to recycle the cans, which helped launch the recycling revolution. Coors is also an ethanol leader, selling the brewing byproduct to refineries to create millions of gallons of alcohol fuel each year. Ready for your jaw to drop? By donating biodiesel fuel, Coors was even the official ethanol producer for last summer's Democratic National Convention!

Finally, here are two more important tips for keeping your beer consumption green. Always choose bottles over cans because glass is easier and more effective to recycle. Second, opt for beer with painted-on labels rather than paper to cut down on waste and save trees. By taking little steps like these, we can all feel better about tossing one back this St. Paddy's Day.

Know of other great green brews that we left off our list? Let us know about them in the comments.