Goose Island's Green Line Project Makes Brew 'Blue'

Tom Korder, brewery operations manager at Goose Island Beer Company

Emily Cikanek

Chicago has some of the nation's least expensive and highest quality water—and that good fortune isn't lost on Goose Island Beer Company. After all, the cost and quality of a beer directly relies upon the cost and quality of its most voluminous ingredient: water.

Known for locally-brewed, award-winning beers such as 312 and Bourbon County Stout, Goose Island is constantly seeking to raise the benchmark not only for great-tasting brews, but also for sustainable brewing strategies. By closely monitoring their water and energy consumption, both during their brewing and distribution processes, which together account for some 54 percent of a keg of beer's carbon footprint, Goose Island has taken several steps to minimize their water usage and save on utility costs—something they, their customers, and the international brewing community can all raise a pint to.

According to Tom Korder, Goose Island's brewery operations manager, the City of Chicago provided Goose Island with funding support to commission the Chicago Manufacturing Center to perform a product life cycle analysis of a keg of Goose Island's 312 Urban Wheat Ale and assess the keg's carbon footprint. "With the results from the report, Goose Island had the means to evaluate the impact our kegged beer has on the environment," said Korder. "From that point, we were able to identify several areas of the brewery that needed our attention and directly address those."

Read on to find out how Goose Island is making its brew more "blue" and to learn more about the company's Green Line Project. »

Watch a video to learn more about Goose Island's sustainability practices. »

Conservation tips

Use and reuse. Water from your sink, bath or shower often doesn't need to go right down the drain. Fill your toilet tank with it, or even water houseplants (but make sure you use environmentally friendly soap).

Read your bill. Some water bills give a detailed breakdown of the costs of providing water—fire protection, treatment, pumpage, conservation programs, etc. Knowing the costs of your water, not just the price, will help you and your community make more informed decisions.

Beat your bill. Many water bills also show month-to-month use comparisons. Challenge yourself and your family to a conservation goal and then reward yourselves if you hit it. If your community doesn't send monthly bills, request them.

March 2011
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What Our Water's Worth is an ongoing campaign led by the Metropolitan Planning Council and Openlands to raise awareness about the value of water in northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana. From Lake Michigan to the Fox River, how we use our water resources—including what we conserve, how much we waste, and what we choose to invest in water quality—is up to each of us. This is our water—and it's worth more than we know.

WOWW factors

18,768,260 gallons per year
Like all brewers, Goose Island Beer Company requires lots of water to produce great beer.

6:1 water to beer ratio
The average brewer uses about 6 gallons of water for every 1 gallon of beer produced. Goose Island is at a 5:1 ratio and is trying to improve that ratio even more through its Green Line Project.

$1.86 for one gallon
Goose Island's approximate sales generated from each gallon of input water. Used wisely, our region's water has immense economic development potential.

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