Brewing the world's first carbon negative beer without any offsets

Taking on the problem

Gipsy Hill decided to tackle the problem from the grain to the glass and created the world's first carbon-negative beer without offsetting emissions. The brewery's Swell Lager and Trail Pale are brewed using barley grown through regenerative farming, and hops which have been recaptured and reused - meaning each pint removes more greenhouse gases from the atmosphere than it produces.

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This is a major breakthrough for the beer industry, which has long been criticised for its environmental impact. Gipsy Hill's achievement shows that it is possible to produce delicious, sustainable beer without relying on carbon offsetting.

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Gipsy Hill co-founder and MD Sam McMeekin had this to say about the process.

“By truly embedding sustainability into our brewing process, rather than simply offsetting emissions, we have created a blueprint for sustainable beer range, but the wider food and drink industry.”

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🌾 What is regenerative farming?

The key to Gipsy Hill's carbon-negative beer is the use of regenerative farming practices. Regenerative farming is a way of growing food that helps to improve soil health, increase biodiversity, and sequester carbon in the soil.

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When barley is grown using regenerative farming practices, it actually removes more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases. This is because the soil is able to store more carbon when it is healthy and diverse.

♻️What are re-captured hops?

In addition to using regeneratively-grown barley, Gipsy Hill also recaptures and reuses hops in its brewing process. Hops are a common ingredient in beer, but they are often thrown away after they have been used. Gipsy Hill has developed a way to recapture hops and reuse them in subsequent batches of beer.

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This helps to reduce the environmental impact of brewing beer, as it eliminates the need to grow the same amount of hops for every batch without compromising flavour.

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🫶 What are the benefits of carbon-negative beer?

There are many benefits to drinking carbon-negative beer. The first benefit is fairly obvious, it is better for the environment. Carbon-negative beer helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which contributes to climate change.

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The second, carbon-negative beer is better for your health. Regenerative farming practices help to improve soil health, which can lead to healthier crops. This means that carbon-negative beer is likely to be higher in nutrients than beer that is not brewed with regeneratively-grown ingredients.

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Finally, carbon-negative beer tastes great. Gipsy Hill's Swell Lager and Trail Pale are both delicious beers that are sure to please beer lovers.

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‍Edd Lees, co-founder of Wildfarmed, said

“We’re thrilled to be working with Gipsy Hill to create a beer that not only tastes great, but is great for the planet too.

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🧮 How did Zevero help?

It’s easy to claim, it’s difficult to prove. We helped Gipsy Hill measure, report and verify their idea to ensure their claim was proven. For us, it was a hugely rewarding process and helping Sam on his mission to make the first carbon-negative off-set free beer in the world is exactly why we started Zevero.

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