Widmer Brothers Brewing Installs CO2 Recovery System

Widmer Brothers Brewing takes its approach to environmental stewardship very seriously. The North Portland brewery has been on the leading edge when it comes to water consumption in brewing. Today the brewer announced that it has installed a CO₂ recovery system at its Portland brewery on North Russell Street.

With this installation, Widmer is becoming the first Oregon brewer to close the CO₂ loop. This new CO₂ recovery system was built in partnership with ICC Engineering and brings the brewer another step forward in the brewery’s ongoing commitment to setting the industry bar in sustainability.

Here’s more from today’s press release from Widmer…

CO₂ is a natural byproduct of the brewing process, and as breweries expand production they have been looking for ways to manage their emissions output. Widmer Brothers Brewing’s new CO₂ recovery system allows the brewery to capture, clean, and filter the CO₂ that is released during fermentation and reuse that captured gas for carbonization and packaging.  By generating 100 percent of its CO₂ needs onsite, Widmer Brothers has eliminated the need to purchase and transport hundreds of thousands of pounds of CO₂ each year from outside suppliers, further aligning its brewing, packaging and transportation practices around environmental sustainability. 

“As one of the largest brewers in Oregon, the sustainability benefits of installing a CO₂ recovery system are huge,” said Julia Person, sustainability manager for Widmer Brothers. “We will be able to reuse our captured CO₂ for packaging, reduce onsite emissions, and eliminate the need to have multiple trucks delivering bulk CO₂ to the brewery each week. Widmer Brothers has a long track record of supporting a cleaner environment, and we’re proud to be the first Oregon brewery to close the CO₂ loop.”   

This latest investment by Widmer Brothers is among many over the years to make the brewery more sustainable. As published in its 2017 Sustainability Report, Widmer Brothers is celebrating multiple achievements over the last year:  

• Widmer Brothers is a leader in water to beer ratio, using 3.77 gallons of water per gallon of beer, with a goal to hit 3.47 gallons of water per gallon of beer this year.
• Widmer Brothers has made a concerted effort to tackle carbon intensity, resulting in world-class carbon efficiency per barrel of beer brewed. The brewery uses 10 kWh/BBL and 1.1 therms/BBL. With the help of Energy Trust of Oregon, the brewery hit 22.06 lbs of CO₂/BBL this past year.
• Widmer Brothers sent 13,000 tons of spent grains to local farms, which helped divert 99.5% of the brewery’s total waste from landfills.

For more information on Widmer Brothers Brewing, visit widmerbrothers.com, or keep up with the latest Widmer Brothers happenings on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.