Gipsy Hill Brewery creates offset-free carbon negative pint
A London brewery has created an offset-free carbon negative beer. Gipsy Hill Brewery said its new Swell Lager and Trail Pale are brewed using barley grown through regenerative farming, and hops which have been recaptured and reused - meaning each pint removes more greenhouse gases from the atmosphere than it produces.
It claimed this is the first time a brewery has produced a carbon-negative beer without using carbon offsetting, a process where businesses reduce the carbon footprint of products through activities unrelated to their production – for example planting trees in another part of the world.
Gipsy Hill’s latest beers have carbon footprints of -40gCO2e for Swell Lager and -30gCO2e for Trail Pale per pint respectively. A typical pint of commercial lager produces at least 350g of CO2, with many craft IPAs starting at 500gCO2e.
The complete carbon lifecycle of the beers has been independently analysed by Zevero, a specialist carbon accounting firm. The study accounted for the full life cycle of the products, from the growing of the ingredients to the end of life of packaging.
Sam McMeeken, co-founder of Gipsy Hill Brewery, said: “Making great quality beer has been our obsession for 10 years, but I felt we had to find a way to do it more sustainably. Great beer should be guilt-free, and our new Trail Pale and Swell Lager mean that for the first time, our drinkers can enjoy a pint safe in the knowledge it’s actively improving the environment and helping solve our climate crisis.
“At Gipsy Hill, we have always tried to make sure our beer has a positive impact, and that’s why we have actively sought to introduce new innovations to the brewing process and work with the most innovative producers to push the boundaries of sustainable brewing.
“By truly embedding sustainability into our brewing process, rather than simply offsetting emissions, we have created a blueprint for sustainable beer range, but the wider food and drink industry.
Image: Gipsy Hill
