Planet-friendlier drinks
Sip sustainably this summer at bars that care for the planet as much as their cocktails – enjoy feel-good drinks that don’t cost the earth
First, the good news: in sustainability terms, booze is not particularly bad for the planet – what we eat is far more important and, at times, far more problematic. A 75g beef burger generates over 10 times the harmful greenhouse gas emissions that a pint of beer does, according to a benchmark study by experts at Oxford University and Switzerland’s Agroscope. Other analysis suggests alcohol is responsible for just 2-5 per cent of dietary emissions, with that impact being the greatest in pubs and restaurants. On that basis, you can enjoy a G&T guilt-free this summer. But, there are still tweaks you can make to your drinking to deliver easy green wins without spoiling your fun. Such changes won’t radically shrink your carbon footprint, but on issues ranging from farming to recycling, they’ll encourage positive progress in how we all treat the environment. So, grab a beer and listen in.
What are you drinking, and does it matter?
Frankly, the gains in switching from one drink to another are so marginal compared to changing your diet, that forgoing meat
more often would do far more good than swerving the pub or a tipple you love. But, for the record, research indicates that beer creates more greenhouse gas emissions per pint (double the amount, at times) than a medium glass of wine. Neat spirits have a much smaller footprint, but that grows if you add ice or mixers. With so many variables in play, it’s impossible to choose a definitively ‘green’ drink, but you could make a good case (heat-free fermentation, bio-diverse orchards, organic brands such as Dunkertons) for traditional cider. Drinking what the Campaign For Real Ale defines as “real cider” – that is, unpasteurised and made from whole apple juice – is a pretty planet-friendly way to enjoy a pint.
Beer
Want to sup sustainably? Order a pint of draught beer. Beer arrives at pubs in steel barrels that are used 100-plus times over decades, then recycled. It’s a very efficient distribution method. There are always exceptions, but in broad terms, drinking
locally made beer as close to its point of production as possible (like a brewery tap) is a good sustainable move, as is choosing a UK-brewed beer over an imported one. Cask beer is also a sound choice, given regional versions are widely available. Ale gravity-dispensed from the barrel is a green bonus, but very rare. Draught not available? Choose cans over bottles. Both are regularly recycled, but canned beer is lighter to transport, and recycling aluminium uses less energy than recycling glass. Amazingly, 75 per cent of all the aluminium ever made has been recycled and is still in use. But, that’s not a free pass: recycling has its own carbon footprint and, says a spokesperson for the Sustainable Restaurant Association, “What we really need is a circular system where single-use packaging becomes a thing of the past.” Finally, keep an eye out for ales from certified-organic brewers (such as Black Isle, Atlantic or Stroud) and beers created as sustainable products. These include Black Sheep’s carbon-neutral Respire and Seven Bro7hers Throw Away, for which leftover Kellogg’s Corn Flakes are ‘upcycled’ to make an IPA.
Takeaway tips
Drink draught, prioritise UK pints and local real ales, choose cans over bottles and look for sustainably brewed beers.
Wine
Drinking organic, biodynamic or natural wine is a positive change you can make. All three use grapes cultivated without artificial chemical pesticides or antifungal sprays. This reduces greenhouse gas emissions and prevents the pollution and soil degradation that can arise from excessive synthetic chemical use. Many of those vineyards also follow regenerative farming principles. By rewilding land, planting different crops amid vines or operating ‘no-dig’ policies, they maximise soil health.
Organic wine production is growing, too, particularly in warmer, drier regions – almost 75 per cent of the world’s organic vines are in Spain, France and Italy. But, in cold, damp northern Europe, reducing chemical use may require drinkers to embrace
unfamiliar grapes – known as hybrids or PIWIs – that are gaining traction as sustainable alternatives. Unlike classic European vinifera grapes (such as sauvignon blanc, chardonnay), hybrids are crossed with non-vinifera grapes to create hardier frost- and disease-resistant varieties that thrive with little, if any, chemical intervention. Some connoisseurs are sniffy about hybrid wines – made from grapes such as solaris, rondo, seyval blanc and marquette – but Sunny Hodge, owner of London’s Aspen & Meursault, says: “We sell loads that I think are phenomenal.” Beyond the vineyard, wine bottles are a big issue. Making glass is energy-intensive, and studies suggest that bottling may account for 30-50 per cent of each wine’s emissions. Those heavy bottles are then transported, which – particularly if sent by air or road; sea freight is more sustainable – adds considerably to its carbon footprint.
In Britain, drinking British wine that has travelled a shorter distance is one tactic. Otherwise, opt for lighter-weight bottles that are capsule-free (no unrecyclable foil at the neck) and that, rather than plastic stoppers, use screw-caps or cork, now widely viewed as the sustainable option. Alternatively, dispense with the bottle altogether: many sustainability-focused bars now pour tap wines from recyclable or returnable kegs and XXL bag-in-box set-ups. These formats (far lighter than bottles to transport and less prone to waste) slash a glass of wine’s carbon footprint.
Takeaway tips
Drink natural or organic wines, opt for hybrid grapes, drink British or sea-imported options (ask at the bar), opt for lighter-weight bottles or try tap wine.
Cocktails
No one wants a sustainability lecture with their negroni and, consequently, bars rarely stress green credentials on cocktail menus. Instead, you must learn how to decode a menu and evaluate passing drinks. Ask yourself: are garnishes edible, seasonal and necessary? Are the drinks considered in their use of foraged ingredients? Are leftovers (citrus peels and fruit trimmings) reused to create cordials and syrups? To minimise the use of imported fruits, is the bar making infused vinegars to replicate citrus acidity? Jack Wakelin, co-owner of Sheffield bar Pearl and restaurant Bench – a man who has used leftover whey in place of lime to make a classic daiquiri – says any such waste-minimising work is a good indicator that a bar takes sustainability seriously: “It’s labour-intensive. It does show a consciousness.” Cocktails at Wakelin’s venues are batched; that is, pre-made and served on tap. The rationale is that when making cocktails to order, bartenders use (and wastefully discard) loads of ice as they mix, chill and dilute drinks. Batching enables bars to serve consistent cocktails without ice or use it sparingly in specific serves, while also minimising the use of glass bottles. Many now buy large pouches of spirits (that are recyclable and can be returned by post), to use in batch recipes. On menus, look for references to organic spirits (such as those from malt whisky distillery Nc’nean) and the inclusion of innovative sustainable drinks, such as the ‘climate-positive’ pea gin, Nàdar.
Takeaway tips
Avoid gimmicky drinks; look for seasonal fruits, homemade elements and eco-brands on menus; get on-board with tap cocktails.
Good-news booze
Raise a glass to the new innovations in sustainable drinking:
- Denbies in Surrey is one of few Certified Net Zero wine producers globally. Its land is managed so that it sequesters more carbon (fixes it in the soil – a positive) than it emits into the atmosphere.
- Last year, Johnnie Walker Black Label maker Diageo trialled a 90 per cent paper bottle for whisky, which reduced the bottle’s weight by about 60 per cent.
- Beer hops are regularly imported, particularly for lagers, but Purity Brewing’s Pure pilsner is made with British-grown hops and East Anglian malt.
- Pioneering Herefordshire maker Penrhos Spirits retails its gins in light, recycled aluminium bottles, reducing its packaging carbon footprint by 91 per cent.
- TransOceanic Wind Transport’s low-impact, sail-powered transatlantic fleet carries cargo from France to America for drinks producers, including burgundy wine maker Maison Joseph Drouhin and champagne house G.H. Mumm.
- From broad beans to the ancient African grain fonio (see: Brewgooder’s Fairtrade fonio IPA), brewers are increasingly including sustainable ingredients in their beers. Norwegian scientists have been experimenting with planet-friendly pea sugars as a fast way of brewing Belgian-style sour beers.
- At Hampshire’s Candover Brook vineyard, sheep graze between the vines in spring to help tend and fertilise the land. Their fleeces have also been trialled as an alternative to leaf mulch; the idea is that when they are laid around the vines, they’ll feed the soil, suppress grasses and weeds and retain water as they decompose.
- Using regenerative Wildfarmed barley and spent hops (from which leftover bittering compounds are cleverly extracted), London’s Gipsy Hill is now brewing carbon-negative draught lager Swell. The beer leaves no damaging carbon footprint; in fact, it positively sequesters carbon in the ground.
Discover more planet-friendly content:
Chris Packham on veganism, sustainability and his love for nature
Top sustainable foods
Why are you throwing away fruit?
The Good Food sustainability glossary
Easy ways to make soup from leftovers
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