Talking Head: Green beer

Brewers at 5 Seasons Westside and Sierra Nevada Brewing Company are making “local” and “sustainable” more than buzzwords.



I just heard the best news to come down the pike since Stone Brewing came to town. Even if Judge Magnuson pulls the plug on Atlanta’s Chatahoochee River water supply in 3 years, there will still be beer at 5 Seasons Westside.

The recently opened restaurant and brewery, which already fires its brewing kettles with used cooking oil from its kitchens, announced that it has installed a rainwater catchment system from RainHarvest Systems of Cumming that will provide all the water for their beer. The water is purified through 6 stages of filtration, followed by a dual-beam ultraviolet sterilization that results in water of superior quality to tap water. “The processed rainwater not only fulfills our commitment to environmentally responsible production, but it also tastes better than municipal water, which ultimately makes a smoother, better tasting beer,” says head brewer Crawford Moran. “We’re the only brewery in the world doing this.”