CO2 Emissions from Asheville's Craft Brewing Industry

This study examined the relationship between two of Asheville, NC's, foundational identities—its environmentally mindful community and the craft brewing industry. The goal was to quantify CO₂ emissions from the fermentation process of brewing beer at local breweries in Asheville. Additionally, this project determined whether emissions from fermentation were substantial compared to CO₂ emissions from the breweries' electricity usage. Data from three breweries were analyzed during 2016-2017. Our results show that the emissions from fermentation were not substantial in relation to electricity usage. Emissions from fermentation were less than 0.5% of emissions from electricity usage at all three breweries - slightly under 70 tonnes compared to just over 31,000 tonnes of CO₂ from electricity usage. While 70 tonnes of CO₂ may not seem substantial, this study was limited to just three of the more than three dozen breweries in Asheville. Given the size of the brewing industry, it is too soon to dismiss fermentation emissions as being unimportant to Asheville's carbon footprint.