Fermenting Tanks
at Anderson
Valley Brewing
Company
BrewMaster
Neil Atkins
competition at the California State Fair. But
for Ken Allen, perhaps the most meaningful
award has been the Waste Reduction Award,
given by the California Integrated Waste
Management Board.
Like many Mendocino County businesses, the brewery has reduced their environmental impact, and in doing so discovered
this is not only good for the environment
but also cost-effective. For five years, AVBC
has been the winner of the Waste Reduction
Award. Every aspect of the company operation is focused on minimizing, re-using or
recycling.
Three ponds treat wastewater from the
brewing process, using bacteria that consume excess nutrients. The treated water is
used to drip-irrigate the grass areas around
the facility. The brewery uses 768 photovoltaic solar panels which provide nearly
fifty percent of their energy needs, and at
the time of construction was the largest
private photovoltaic solar array north of San
Francisco.
Spent grain, yeast and hops are picked
up by farmers for use as supplemental animal feed, soil mulch and enrichment. Even
the manure from the horse stall is composted and sold to the public for a reasonable
$20 per pickup load. The brewery informs
everyone of their environmental commitment by putting the words, “Solar Powered
Brewery” on every bottle cap.
Breweries, particularly in Europe, have
a long history of community involvement,
and the AVBC is continuing this tradition.
For the past ten years, the Brewery has
organized and hosted the Legendary Boonville Beer Festival, held at the Mendocino
County Fairgrounds, which brings together
the brewing community and beer aficionados for an afternoon of serious beer tasting.
Proceeds from the festival are distributed
to Anderson Valley non-profits, and over the
years as attendance has continued to climb,
The 12th Annual
Legendary Boonville
Beer Festival
will take place at Boonville’s Mendocino
County Fairgrounds, May 10, 2008.
Thousands of beer lovers are expected to
browse the bubbles of 200 kinds of beer
from more than 50 microbreweries. Entry
fee entitles you to all the beer you want,
but bring your wallet for the food, craft,
T-shirt, and beer-making booths. Taps are
open from 1-5 pm. For tickets and info,
707-895-2337 or www.avbc.com
Founder
Ken Allen
with the
company
mascot
the profits disbursed to local organizations
have grown. Last year over $62,000 was distributed to local athletic programs, animal
rescue, the Anderson Valley Museum, senior
center and more.
The festival is considered one of the
country’s best. Beer lovers from around the
globe make this event part of a Mendocino
County getaway. Over sixty breweries,
mostly from California and the Northwest,
are represented, and the admission fee entitles the bearer to sample every brew. Over
5,000 tickets were sold last year, and the
2008 event is a sure sellout. Reserve your
accommodations early, as every room in An-dersoon Valley and beyond will be booked.
Though Mendocino County is known
for its fine wines, artisanal, craft brewing is
a rapidly growing movement. If you’d like
to try fine beer, take a trip over to Boonville
and let the friendly staff at the Anderson
Valley Brewing Company give you a tour of
their impressive facility.
Head over to the visitors center, where
you will be treated to good conversation,
beautiful scenery and the complex, rich
and earthy tastes of one of the oldest and
time-honored beverages in our history. As
the locals would say, it’s the bahlest steinber,
meaning the best beer, around!
For information about the Brewery and
the Beer Festival, go to www.avbc.com
