Central Alberta brewery adopts new technology to reduce greenhouse gasses, save thousands of dollars
A brewery in Lacombe is planning to adopt a new carbon dioxide (CO2) capturing technology that will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
When Blindman Brewing co-founder Shane Groendahl, along with his four partners, first opened the brewery in 2015, they had a vision.
“From the beginning, our initiative was to be as eco-friendly as possible at the brewery and to do the right things by the environment as we best can,” Groendahl said.
Last month, the brewery installed 180 solar panels on its roof. Now, the owners are looking to capture CO2, created in the process of making beer, and reuse it.
“We’re trying to make sure that we’re using the electricity and the resources that we have as best as we can, as most efficient as we can, and that’s part of what this CO2 recapture program is all about,” he said.
During the brewing process, brewers take a grain, like malted barley, and extract the sugars from it into a liquid solution called wort. The wort, in other words, is unfermented beer.
“Then, we’ll add yeast to it, and that yeast chews on that sugar and simply spits out the CO2 and alcohol,” he said.
The CO2 produced during the fermentation process is usually released into the atmosphere, but Blindman Brewing will be using a new technology, built by Earthy Labs, that will capture the CO2, clean it, and compress it for reuse.
“The device has different sensors in it to trigger and collect the CO2, and recapture that, and, effectively, put it into a liquid form that we can plug into our existing CO2 liquid manifold and reuse that in different parts of our process,” he said.
The CO2 can then be reused to carbonate beer, for packaging, or to purge tanks. Groendahl expects the new technology to save the brewery $60,000 a year.
“This new system will allow us to recapture and recuperate some of the costs we otherwise spend on CO2 throughout the year while, effectively, limiting our greenhouse gas emissions.”
Blindman Brewing will receive $102,000 in funding from Emissions Reductions Alberta as part of its Food, Farming, and Forestry Challenge. The total project is expected to cost $200,000.
“The grant funding through ERA has allowed this project to be a little more accessible,” Groendahl said.
Blindman Brewing will be the first small-scale brewery in Canada to adopt this new technology.
“Large breweries, like the big Labatt’s processing plant in Edmonton, already do this,” he said.
“There’s other small breweries that do it in the U.S. (United States), and this is the first Canadian installation.”
The brewery expects the technology to arrive in December.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.