Recycling at the Brewery
To mark Global Recycling Day, here are just some of the recycling initiatives happening around the Brewery.
There are only four ingredients needed to brew and we make the most of them!
When the malt is heated in the mash tun with the hot liquor (that’s the brewing term for water), it releases the sugars, which are essential for fermentation.
Having taken out the “goodness” we need, the “spent grain” is dug out of the mash tun by hand.
As the spent grain is rich in protein and fibre, it is perfect for animal feed.
Our friend, John, arrives weekly to collect the spent grain to feed to his heavy horses, including Sovereign, who helped us with last year’s hop harvest, and his fellow equine, Bowler, who pulled the dray at the Hop Harvest TEA Party.
Local farmer, Mike, also collects the grain for his herd of cows.
There’s almost 2 tonnes of spent grain from every brew, and we average 5-6 brews a week. That’s a lot of happy, local animals!
The spent hops are also recycled by Mike, in nearby Frensham. Left to rot, they make perfect compost for roses! Don't worry, we re-use the old malt sacks to transport the spent hops....
Even the liquor (water) used in the brew house plays its part. We can recover and reuse the heat from it, so we use less energy.
When it comes to recycling, our reusable glass flagons have proved a real hit since their introduction in July 2020 at the Brewery Shop. Not only do the 3½ pint Snorters and 1¾ pint Snifters keep the beer fresher for longer than a plastic container, we can also refill them here at the Brewery. That means we’ve saved almost 15,000 single-use plastic bottles. So a big thank you to everyone who has helped us so far. But by recycling the plastic containers at home, you can also do your bit for the planet.
Our new stainless steel Brewery Gate kegs can be refilled any number of times. Although we have only just launched the kegs, we look forward to refilling them many more times in the future!
Finally, for all you home-brewers out there, who would like a small sample of our yeast for collection, or if you are interested in collecting some spent hops, contact shop@hogsback.co.uk and we’ll see if we can help.
Here's to many more successful recycling schemes!
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