Solar Powered Beer

Next time you’re in the Portland area, sidle up to the bar at Lucky Labrador Brewing Company, in Hawthorne, Ore., and ask for a pint of Sun Beer. What you’ll get is a flavorful summer ale that was brewed using solar power. Sitting on top of the brewery are 16 four-foot-by-ten-foot panels being heating by the sun, which, even in the winter months, gets the water used for brewing as hot as 145 degrees F. In the summer, they can bring the heat level up to 230 degrees F. The panels are drawing nearly enough energy from the sun to fuel the first stage of the beer-making process, as well as enough energy to supply hot water to the kitchen and bathrooms. Lucky Lab is in good company—other breweries, such as Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and Anderson Valley Brewing Company in California, are converting solar power to electricity too. --Denise Shoukas 

Denise Shoukas is a regular foodspring.com contributor and is the author of foodspring’s food forager blog.