Drink beer to help the planet! London brewery creates world’s first carbon negative pint

Whether it’s turning off lights when not using them or bringing a reusable water bottle instead of buying a plastic one, many of us try to take measures to reduce our carbon footprint. 

Now, there’s a new way to help the planet – and it’s great news if you’re a fan of a cold pint. 

Gipsy Hill Brewery in London has created what it claims is the world’s first offset-free carbon negative beer. 

The Swell Lager and Trail Pale are brewed using barley grown through regenerative farming and hops that have been recaptured and reused. 

This means you can enjoy your pint knowing it actually removes more greenhouse gases from the atmosphere than it produces. 

The Swell Lager and Trail Pale are brewed using barley grown through regenerative farming and hops that have been recaptured and reused

While other breweries such as BrewDog claim to have carbon-negative beers, these have relied on carbon offsetting. 

This controversial process sees businesses compensate for their carbon emissions by funding an equivalent carbon dioxide saving elsewhere. 

For example, BrewDog claims its beers are carbon negative because it plants trees across a 9,308 acre plot of land in the Scottish Highlands. 

However, Gipsy Hill’s new beers mark the first time a brewery has produced a truly carbon-negative beer, without relying on carbon offsetting. 

To create the beers, Gipsy Hill used certified regenrative barley from Wildfarmed. 

This company works with farmers to implement regenerative practices, which means the process of farming barley puts away more carbon in the soil than it releases into the atmosphere.  

‘We’re making it easy for people to help solve some of the world’s biggest problems — like climate change and food security — by consuming food & drink made with ingredients from healthy, regenerative soil,’ said Edd Lees, Co-founder at Wildfarmed.

‘Our Wildfarmed barley sequesters carbon, increases biodiversity, and is the gold standard of regen agriculture.’ 

Gipsy Hill’s new beers mark the first time a brewery has produced a truly carbon-negative beer, without relying on carbon offsetting

Overall, a pint of the Swell Lager has a carbon footprint of -40gCO2e, while a pint of the Trail Pale results in -30gCO2e

This regenerative barley is then combined with recaptured hops from previous batches of beer. 

These hops are usually thrown away, which means using them results in zero greenhouse gas emissions, according to Gipsy Hill Brewery.  

Overall, a pint of the Swell Lager has a carbon footprint of -40gCO2e, while a pint of the Trail Pale results in -30gCO2e. 

For comparison, Imperial College London predicts that a pint of internationally produced lager has a carbon footprint of 759gCO2e.

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.’

The carbon-negative beers are available now in a number of locations, including Gipsy Hill’s taproom in South London, and a selection of Youngs venues across the UK.

The cost of a pint depends on the venue, but ranges from £6.50-£7.50.  

WHEN DID HUMANS START DRINKING BEER?

Humans have had a long history of consuming alcohol.

It is believed the primitive cultures of Mesopotania could have been brewing malted barley scraps as far back as 10,000BC but there are no records of it.

The earliest proof of beer-drinking dates back to Northern China 9,000 years ago.

This ancient brew was made using hawthorn fruit, Chinese wild grapes, rice and honey, and is the oldest known fermented beverage in history – older even than wine.

The earliest proof of beer-drinking dates back to Northern China 9,000 years ago

To make it the corn was milled and moistened in the maker’s mouth to convert starches in the corn into fermentable sugars – before it was ‘spat’ into the beer.

Throughout history, the consumption of alcohol may have helped people become more creative, advancing the development of language, art and religion.

This is because alcohol lowers inhibitions and makes people feel more spiritual.

It is believed the Egyptians started brewing beer around 5,000BC, according to the papyrus scrolls.

They were brewing things like dates, pomegranates and other indigenous herbs.

At around 3150 BC, the Egyptians used industrial-scale breweries to provide beer for the workers who built the pyramids of Giza.

Eventually beer made its way from the Middle East to Europe where an abundance of barley crops provided lots of raw ingredient for brewers.

Experts have now found evidence of brewing in Greece during the Bronze Age.

Researchers believe that these prehistoric people enjoyed getting merry with alcoholic drinks for feasts all year-round and not just when the grapes were ripe.

Not only was it considered nutritional it was also a safe alternative to drinking water.

It was in the Middle Ages that malted barley became the main source of fermented sugar and beer became the beverage we are familiar with today.