SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES & COMMUNITY IMPACT
PLANET PROTECTING BREWING PRACTICES
Our commitment to sustainability and community impact is at the core of everything we do at Ferment Brewing. From sourcing local ingredients to giving back to our community, we strive to protect the planet and support our neighbors. Explore our efforts to minimize waste, promote environmental stewardship, and make a positive impact through our beers and in our tasting room.
INTENTIONAL PACKAGING
Digitally Printed Cans
Plastic sticker labels are common on small batch beers but they render beer cans non-recyclable. We intentionally use digitally printed cans, eliminating the need for sticker labels and keeping cans out of the landfill.
Refillable Bottles
We are proud to be part of the Bottle Drop network for Oregon Bottle Recycling Cooperative. Our Farmhouse series beers are packaged in specialty refillable bottles, which have a 95% lower carbon footprint and require 92% less energy and 82% less water than conventional bottles.
You can return these bottles to our tasting room or sign up for the OBRC green bag program at home. Bottles are cleaned and reused instead of being shipped away and broken down. This extends the life of our bottles. Join us in our homegrown sustainability efforts by refilling your bottles and reducing waste. Learn more here.
Paktech Handles
Made down the highway in Eugene, Paktech handles are produced with 100% post-consumer recycled plastic.
At this time the handles can’t be recycled curbside but you can find a Paktech recycling drop site near you.
Ferment is a drop site too! We’ll take the used Paktechs to a recycling partner where they are converted into automobile parts.
LOCAL SOURCING
Our beers make use of the regional bounty across the Pacific Northwest. Even many of our traditional style beers have a Northwest twist.
- We feature Oregon, Washington, and Idaho hops in most of our beers
- Mainstem Malt’s Salmon-Safe certified, watershed protecting malt is incorporated into a number of our seasonal brews. Learn more here
- We bring locally foraged ingredients into select beers, such as The Sentinel and Woodsman Porter
- We source local fruit when possible in our fruited our sale ales.
- All our Farmhouse ales are fermented with our house White River yeast strain, collected on the slopes of Mt. Hood
WASTE REDUCTION
- Grain Bags - Grain bags are not recyclable curbside so we take them to Vancouver Plastic in Washington where they are recycled into automobile parts
- Centrifuge - We purchased a centrifuge that helps us drastically reduce waste in our tanks
- Spent Grain - We don’t ever brew a beer without reaching out to a farmer who can use our spent grain for livestock feed.
COMMUNITY IMPACT
GIVING BACK AND SUPPORTING CAUSES THAT MATTER
We believe in giving back to our community and supporting causes that matter. Through partnerships and donations, we strive to make a positive impact on the people and environment around us.
SUPPORTING LOCAL NONPROFITS
Locals Supporting Locals
From Fall to Spring our tasting room hosts monthly nonprofit fundraisers and community engagement events where we raise thousands of dollars for local nonprofit organizations and donate cash proceeds.
Collaborative Campaigns
Through the brewhouse we collaborate with nonprofits to raise awareness for important causes by making unique beers, hosting launch parties, and marketing awareness campaigns. We’ve partnered with:
- Oregon Wildlife Foundation - We brew a special IPA that highlights Herman The Sturgeon and a red ale focused on red legged frogs conservation by OWF. Both beers utilize climate resilient ingredients.
- Pink Boots Society - Annually we make beers that support the advancement of women in the brewing industry.
- Oregon Agricultural Trust - Through the org’s Cheers to the Land campaign we make a beer with Oregon ingredients and support the permanent protection of farmland.
- Adventures Without Limits - We joined Earth To Beer, a national Earth Day beer campaign, and supported a local organization that makes the outdoors more accessible for everyone.
CREATING A COMMUNITY SPACE
- Community Space - We’re proud to use our spaces for community gatherings such as yoga and dance studios, outdoor group gathering space, nonprofit meetings spaces, and more.
- Farmer’s Market - We are the host of the Winter Hood River Farmers Market where nearly two dozen producers sell their seasonal offerings
ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES IN OUR TASTING ROOM
- Sourcing Local - We built our menu around sourcing from local farms in the Columbia River Gorge
- Waste Management - Dirt Huggers composts all our food waste, turning it into rich soil. And we send all our spent oils to Oregon Oils for responsible recycling.
- Draft Wine - We cut down the use of glass bottles by offering wine on tap. One 5 gallon keg is endlessly reusable and holds the same as 25 bottles of wine.
- Drop Sites - As mentioned above, Ferment is a drop site for Paktech handles and for our refillable OBRC bottles