With more than 9,000 breweries in the U.S., and thousands more across the globe, being aware of how breweries impact the environment isn’t just something that should be done, it’s something that needs to be done. The U.S. breweries listed below go above and beyond in what they do to create sustainable practices that have a positive impact on the total environment. Because of this, they are recognized as B Corp Certified Breweries.
Of course, we want craft beer lovers to recognize the need for sustainability in the brewing industry, but we want to go further than that. We want everyone to recognize how breweries – B Corp Certified Breweries or not – aren’t really just about the beer. And what better way to do so, then to have one of our own flesh and blood (who also happens to be our qualified assistant writer) write this article to tell you what beer means to him.
Breweries are About More Than Beer
As someone writing for this site, it may come as a surprise that I do not drink beer, but in my family, I sure as hell know about it. Growing up inside breweries and between my parents and their best friends, beer is a constant conversation. And what is always at the center of that conversation is people.
Craft beer is not about beer; it is about people. And if you walk into a brewery with four people and order a water you will nonetheless be immersed into a beautiful community of people who just want to experience things together. Without craft breweries, the ingredients for them, and the people who make them function, that would never be possible.
B Corp Certified Breweries Begin With Sustainability
To keep that community existing, sustainability needs to be at the heart of a brewery, even more than business. That may sound extreme, but sustainability doesn’t just mean using organic hops and local ingredients, it includes sustainable use of human resources and regenerative practices, which B Corp holds as its highest standard. To be a B Corp certified company means a lot of things but one of the greatest is that it is a company that is helping to “realize a vision of an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative world.”
U.S. B Corp Certified Breweries
As the people who inhabit the space inside breweries, one way we can contribute to the social and environmental sustainability of breweries is to support B Corp Certified Breweries. To make that easier for you, we have compiled a list of U.S. B Corp Certified Breweries.
Be proud of the beer you’re drinking.
In no particular order…
Liability Brewing Company – South Carolina
Liability is focused on making beer not focused on maximizing shareholder profit. They also focus on taking care of their employees, their community, and the environment while making a quality experience for guests.
Athletic Brewing Company – Connecticut
Athletic brews unique non-alcoholic beers while ensuring 2% of all sales goes to trail and park cleanups. As well, 1% of revenue goes to nonprofits in their communities.
Lost Grove Brewing – Idaho
Lost Grove strives for sustainable practices through sourcing locally and reducing waste. They also make socially responsible efforts to positively impact their community.
Creature Comforts Brewing Company – Georgia
Creature Comforts believes in fostering human connection through beer. They have partnered with their local university and government to develop “Get Comfortable” – a novel approach to community development.
Triple Bottom Brewing – Pennsylvania
Triple Bottom is a fair chance brewery creating living wage jobs with an equitable approach including helping community members facing homelessness and reintegration after incarceration. They strive to be “open, inclusive, and trauma-informed.”
Redemption Rock Brewing Co – Massachusetts
Redemption rock is committed to producing high quality beer. They hold an emphasis on locally sourced ingredients.
Lakefront Brewery, Inc. – Wisconsin
Lakefront introduced the first U.S. beer made from 100% in-state-grown ingredients indigenous to Wisconsin. They are committed to serving their local community as well as any who wish to meander through.
Allagash Brewing Company – Maine
Allagash donates 1% of their sales to local nonprofits. They have pledged to use one million pounds of local grain in their beer per year to sustain Maine farmers.
Roadhouse Brewing Company – Wyoming
Roadhouse is passionate about capturing the soul of Jackson Hole in every beer they produce. They are committed to preserving the adventurous community spirit held in Jackson Hole. Click here to listen to Ken and April’s conversation with Jon to learn more on the story behind Roadhouse and Melvin.
Upslope Brewing Company – Colorado
Upslope is highly conscious of the resource intensive role the beer industry holds. They divert about 98% of their waste and use 100% of their grain to feed local livestock.
New Belgium Brewing Co – Colorado
New Belgium pioneered their practice as a Human-Powered Business and strives to focus on the fact that doing business is a community in and of itself. New Belgium has been recognized as B Corps Best for the World (meaning they are amongst the global top 5% in their size group) in all categories 15 times.
The Alchemist – Vermont
Alchemist acknowledges their high impact industry. They commit to using less energy by choosing to invest in new cleaner technologies.
Lawson’s Finest Liquids – Vermont
Lawson’s five core values guide this brewery in all they do. Those values are: Being the Finest, Keeping it Authentic, Focus on Community, Having Fun and Taking Good Care. These are evidenced in their solar program, their social impact program, inclusivity in their hiring practices and much more.
Aslan Brewing Company – Washington
Aslan exclusively brews 100% USDA Certified Organic Beer. Community outreach is a key pillar in Aslan’s business. They stay connected to local non-profits and community organizations to contribute to the Pacific Northwest’s social and environmental wellbeing.
The Grain Shed – Washington
The Grain Shed is both a brewery and a bakery, but they are more than that. They are social-bond makers. Focused on bringing people together over handcrafted foods and brews, they believe that connected communities are stronger communities, and everything they do reflects that.
North Coast Brewing Co – California
North Coast is committed to philanthropy, community, and environmental stewardship. They are passionate about supporting the next generation of jazz musicians, along with funding marine mammal research and rescue.
Hopworks Urban Brewery – Oregon
Hopworks is committed to creating exceptional beer with sustainable business practices in order to protect the planet and their community. Hopworks supports its neighborhoods through donations, profit sharing, and nonprofit volunteering.
Brewery Vivant & Broad Leaf Brewery & Spirits – Michigan
Brewery Vivant strives to hold the pillars of sustainability at the core of their business. They publish an annual sustainability report and donate 1% of their sales to sustainability and local community efforts.
True Commitments to Environmental and Social Impact
In the times we live in, sustainability is the constant action of retaining workers and ensuring equitable practices, using regenerative supplies and goods, and impacting our greater community in an accountable and transparent way. B Corp certified businesses make legal commitments to this change. Companies provide real documentation and constant verification to ensure a prolonged commitment to a holistic impact on the world and the communities that inhabit it.
Without breweries and the communities they support, such as the mountains I played in, my life growing up and now as an adult would have looked very different. I personally believe that the conversations adults had around me while they drank their beers and I drank my soda fostered the types of conversations and connections, now as an adult, I love to have with human beings.
-Owen Pishna
Owen’s words go to show that breweries are about more than just the beer. They foster community, conversations, and good vibes.
This is not to say that all of the other 9,000 breweries in the U.S. and more across the globe aren’t doing their part to love on the planet. From our personal experiences, the majority of them give a lot of love to the planet and the people that inhabit it. But when breweries go above and beyond to create a pathway to protect the total environment, they deserve to be recognized.
To learn more about what it takes to be B Corp certified, click here.
To learn the details on what each of the U.S. B Corp Certified Breweries are doing to achieve this certification, click here and search for the ones you want to learn more about.
Want More?
Looking for more socially conscious breweries?
Listen to our conversation with a panel of brewers and brewery owners, including Marcus B, who started the Black is Beautiful beer initiative.
Dive Deeper into a U.S. B Corp Certified Brewery
Join us as we chat with Jon Courtois from Roadhouse Brewing about what it really means to be a B Corp Certified Brewery.
Just like everyone else on this planet, we're not perfect. So while we try to get all the facts correct, we may have missed a brewery or listed something incorrectly. If you notice something that is not quite right, please feel free to let us know. - Your Guides, Ken & April
