Magic Hat Brewery Tips Its Brim to Energy Conservation with Biogas

In a bid to use the tons of grain waste produced during the brewing process that would normally go to waste, Magic Hat is going green. 21 tons of grain waste are produced per day at its South Burlington, VT factory. Instead of simply disposing of this “waste,” Purpose Energy is helping Magic Hat install a 492,000 gallon digester that combines grain waste, water, and yeast to make usable biogas.

More than a year in the making, $2.7 million has been invested in the project, which just came on line several weeks ago. Use of the biogas will ramp up as the project builds out. It would take 100 cubic feet of gas per minute to make beer. Currently, the digester pumps out 15 cubic feet of gas per minute. Eventually, the plant wants to up this to near the 100 cubic feet per minute level, thereby heating the wort with their spent grains. Now that would be a huge breakthrough in sustainability and cost reduction for the company and set a fine example for other brewers and businesses around the country: use your own waste to power your operations.

Magic Hat hopes to have enough biogas to produce their beer with 6 months or so. New Belgium, it looks like there’s a new kid on the block.

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(Hat tip to Jason)