Sustainability
Other Sustainability Projects
OHIO CITY FARM
A collaborative effort of Cleveland organizations has resulted in the formation of the largest urban farm within its city limits. Known as the “Ohio City Farm”, nearly six acres of land adjacent to the West Side Market (resting unused since 1999) have been repurposed for urban agriculture, community development and job training. The consortium of partners behind this effort includes for-profit company, Great Lakes Brewing Company (GLBC), and not-for-profit organizations: The Refugee Response, Ohio City Near West Development Corporation and Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority. Click on the PDF for complete details. Additional press in the Plain Dealer and Cleveland Scene.
ALTERNATIVE FUELS (STRAIGHT VEGETABLE OIL)
To help reduce our carbon footprint (well, tire tread), our beer delivery truck and “Fatty Wagon” shuttle bus run on straight vegetable oil - a renewable fuel made from our reclaimed and filtered restaurant oil.
REUSE OF SPENT BREWERY GRAIN
To us, the grains used to brew our exceptional beer are indispensable—local farmers raise livestock and poultry (featured on our menu) on a diet of brewery grains; Zoss the Swiss Baker uses the grains to produce our cracked barley beer bread and pretzels; and grains (along with paper, kitchen scraps and cardboard) are fed to worms, which then produce castings (top-of-the-line organic fertilizer) used to fertilize our Pint Size Farm and Ohio City Farm.
RECYCLING
We recycle everything we can (even our recycling bins, if possible): cardboard, glass, plastic, steel/aluminum, paper, hops and brewer’s barley. We print all newsletters, menus, beverage napkins and promotional items on recycled paper. And all our packaging includes recycled content. Our intention is to become a true zero waste Brewery.
BEER GARDEN
We renovated the outdoor Beer Garden to include a retractable “Roman Curtain” roof and other ecofriendly components. The Roman Curtain is a durable canvas roof that encloses the Beer Garden and retracts to allow use of this indoor/outdoor dining area all year. The Beer Garden also includes a radiant heat fireplace and floor, a straw bale wall and ten foot high sliding glass doors.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
In the winter, our Brewery cooler brings in chilly outdoor air to cool the beer (thanks, Cleveland), while skylights and light sensors maximize natural light to minimize electricity use. The Brewpub features 12 solar thermal panels and an energy efficient boiler that heat water for brewing and restaurant use.
LOW-FILL BEER
We even think highly enough of our low-fill beers (unsellable bottles because they’re not filled to the maximum level) to use them in a number of items including soups, marinades, sauces, chocolate truffles, sausages and soaps. In fact, our low-fill porters are sent to Mitchell’s Ice Cream to make our exclusive Edmund Fitzgerald Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream.
| "We continually challenge the paradigm of ‘Take, Make, Waste’ to a more sustainable and common sense approach of ‘Take, Make, Remake.’ We try to replicate nature’s ‘zero waste’ cycle by turning our waste into viable products." Patrick Conway, GLBC Co-Owner |
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