US, VT: Magic Hat Brewing turning beer waste into usable bio-gas

Magic Hat Brewing Company, South Burlington, is using new technology to turn its beer waste into usable bio-gas, WFAA reported on July, 16.

Once beer is brewed and bottled, thousands of pounds of a wet, smelly mess is left behind.

Magic Hat Brewing Company has partnered with Purpose Energy to build a 492,000 gallon "digester" to convert the grain waste into usable bio-gas.

The goal is to someday have the digester producing almost enough gas as the brewer needs to make the beer from their very own byproduct.

"Think about the concept of changing the way breweries do business and other industries do business around the world by taking their own waste product and using that to fuel their own process," said Purpose Energy spokesman Ed Fitch.

If the technology is successful at Magic Hat, the energy company will take what they've learned in Vermont to the rest of the country.

20 July, 2011