The expression “drink responsibly” can be seen all over—in commercials and magazines, billboards, beer cans, posters and so on. To most consumers, it means watch how much you consume when it comes to alcohol. But does it have a deeper meaning?
The Little Fish Brewing Company in Athens, Ohio, seems to think so. Longtime friends and owners Jimmy Stockwell and Sean White do what they can to create tasty beers while limiting their environmental impact as much as possible. This takes “drink responsibly” to a whole new level.
A "Farm-To-Tap" Feel
Little Fish is one of three local microbreweries nestled near the college town of Ohio University. It took around two years of planning to get to opening day. A few people probably doubted how successful the brewery would be when the owners chose a location with a run-down auto shop and funky fields. “I didn’t see another place really where we could have fit everything that we were looking to do,” said Stockwell. “So I think we’re very lucky that we got this spot.” As it turns out, the location was just right, offering a unique setting that provides outdoor space for kids to run around and a taproom that sits right next to the brewery.
In addition, the property will soon flourish with hop bushes, fruit trees, berry bushes and other such vegetation. Customers might find it interesting to sit near the ingredients that will someday be used in their beers. Just in the year and a half since Little Fish has been open, they have Ohio hops and malt that they can use. Even though the ingredients aren’t grown specifically on their property, they have actually produced the first commercial batch of beer brewed with all Ohio ingredients since prohibition, according to Stockwell.
The brewery’s name comes from the idea of being a little fish in a big pond, a beer market pond. It’s not about producing high quantities of beer, but about making sure the quality and the atmosphere satisfies the customers who are along for the ride. The owners take pride in what they have created and their enthusiasm can be seen by reading their social media pages or talking with them one on one. “It all really seemed to come together,” said Stockwell.
Activities and events at the brewery are a part of what makes the atmosphere so inviting. The owners at Little Fish try to think of everything. Customers can enjoy movie nights, live music, themed parties, bike rides, corn hole, bottle releases, etc. To find out more, click here to view the event calendar to see what is up next. Recreation aside, no establishment would be complete without food, right? Located right on the property, there is a brewery-exclusive food truck called The Cajun Clucker that has a whole menu of items, including an array of vegan options.
The Sustainability Path
Microbreweries around the country are working to reduce their environmental impact. For some, it just makes economic sense and for others, protecting the earth’s future is the driving force behind their corporate strategy. Stockwell and White are very passionate about being corporately responsible. With that in mind, microbreweries and sustainability go hand in hand.
However, the up-front cost of choosing to be sustainable is an economic sacrifice such as utilizing 100 percent wind-powered electricity and LED lighting. Some help though, comes in the form of government aid for the increased expenses; the brewery received the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grant for its solar power installation.
“I hope that we can be one of many companies that are trying to do the sustainability path,” said White. “I always try to point toward sourcing locally and I think it fits our model as farmhouse brewers. It’s pretty much the best for the planet in the long run to look at sourcing from local farmers to cut down on the fossil fuel cost of getting things all the way across the country,” he said. “Ohio and southeast Ohio in particular could really use that economic boost.” That model of sustainability also follows suit with the vibe of the Athens area, which includes a local farmers’ market. White said he would not have started a business without having sustainability at the forefront because he wouldn’t have been able to separate the two personally.
The owners are not alone in this line of thinking. One of the brewers at Little Fish, Wolfgang Boyer, sees it too. “Just working here for a couple days I realized the things that they were doing,” said Boyer. “Not just brewing the beer, but the goal to go solar and the emphasis put on sustainability.”
With all this in mind, there is still a large amount of waste associated with every gallon of beer produced. As the popularity of craft beer increases, so will the waste, unfortunately. That is why Little Fish strives to achieve certain standards of efficiency in order to guide the local craft brewing industry onto a more sustainable path. This can be shown through their energy, water, local hops, food, ingredients, packaging, transportation, and waste disposal. They even give the excess buckets of spelt that are left over from brewing beer to local farmers to use as livestock feed or compost.
However, natural resources are many times still seen as unlimited and expendable. Coors Brewing Company, for example, has a long list of environmental violations. According to the University of Washington’s website, Coors illegally dumped industrial solvents into Clear Creek from 1976 to 1989, violated the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts 240 times and paid a $700,000 fine for violating hazardous waste laws. Also, it can be a large cost economically if the single price of beer is broken down. A Huffington Post article explains it fully by clicking here.
Unlike companies like Coors, Little Fish is trying to take steps in the right direction. “I think the market’s proving that smaller business with more sustainability-minded focuses can get in and get a piece of the market and bring communities a good product,” said Boyer. Little Fish might be “one tiny drop in a huge bucket” but they continue to make efforts in the right path of drinking responsibly by not only in alcohol consumption but in limiting natural resource consumption as well.
For The Love of Beer
Stockwell and White enjoy brewing simple and rustic beers. According to the Little Fish website, farmhouse ales and sours are close to their hearts, but they equally love to brew and drink lagers and pale ales. “Nothing is off the table as long as it pairs well with friends and family,” stated the website.
The owners aren’t the only ones enamored with brewing great-tasting beer. Boyer tells the story of how he eventually came to be employed at Little Fish. He says he wanted to do something in his hometown and was offered an internship at the brewery. He says he first became interested in brewing because of his father and later a friend of his wanted to start producing beer on a more serious level. “For about nine or 10 years I would homebrew at the house just making different types of weird beers,” said Boyer. “Not necessary conventional beers, but fun beers.”
The craft beer industry is already becoming a big part in the market of alcohol purchases. According to the 2015 Brewers Association’s website, the volume of growth for U.S. craft beer sales was up 12.8 percent and $22.3 billion dollars were spent on brews, which is a 16 percent dollar growth in sales. This growth has allowed more microbreweries to develop and create their own style like the ones in Athens.
Stockwell’s and White’s love and passion for beer really shows in the final product because Little Fish customers keep going back for more. But, with beer companies always expanding and experimenting, it can be hard to stay on a straight, uninfluenced path. “If anything we’re trying to keep it from changing us,” said Stockwell about the beer industry market. “We kind of just want to do our own thing and we hope that people enjoy it and come along with us.”
Cheers!
This goes to show that Little Fish is giving a whole new perspective to the phrase “drink responsibly”. It’s not just about making personal health decisions but also about making smart decisions for the rest of the world. “I don’t know, we’ll see what the future holds,” said White. “I’d like to see people be around on this earth for longer than another 100 years or so."
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Use the hash tag #drinklocal on social media to show support for local breweries. Little Fish Brewing Company is awaiting your visit to Athens, Ohio, the next time you’re ready to “drink responsibly”. You’ll find them creating tasty farmhouse beers in a fun, casual atmosphere and doing everything possible to be sustainable, corporate neighbors.
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