From next-level recycling and on-site composting to farm partnerships for spent grain, we dodge the landfill whenever possible. And spent grain is a huge byproduct of brewing. After the mashing and lautering process, malted barley becomes “spent grain” — its job is done and it’s no longer needed. Multiple times a day, tractor trailers collect our spent grain — along with spent yeast from fermentation — and head to regional cattle and dairy farms where the grain becomes nutritional feed for livestock.

It just made sense: We want local food sources for our Taproom. Why not our backyard? We want to experiment with brewing ingredients. Hey, let’s grow some of our own. We started planting in 2005, and today in Chico we maintain 25 acres of barley and rotational crops, 2 acres of garden, and one acre of hops — all of it certified organic. In Mills River we also have multiple organic plots: a quarter-acre kitchen garden, 16 acres along the adjacent French Broad River, and even a 1/10-acre for mushroom production.