Link to article

“Solving the World’s Problems, One Can at a Time.”

Share Post

 First All Organic Brewery in CO Releases Cans 

Boulder, Colorado

Asher Brewing Company, Colorado’s first and only all organic brewery, will soon be available in cans at liquor stores around Boulder and along the Front Range.

Asher Brewing Company, located in the Gunbarrel area of Boulder, will be celebrating their fourth anniversary this November, which is no small feat in a crowded market where a new microbrewery is starting up every few months. From the beginning, owner and master brewer Chris Asher has made the focus of the brewery not just to produce a variety of world class brews but to do so in a way that was environmentally conscious and socially aware. When the doors to Asher opened in 2009, the original intention was to be canning almost immediately but as word of the brewery spread and the tasting room filled up quickly, thoughts of canning were put on hold. In those four years Asher Brewing Company has almost tripled in size. What began as a twelve seat tasting room with a brewery in the back has now grown enough to require a third unit in the same building later this month.  What adding canning to the operation will do to the rate of growth remains to be seen but expectations are that it will help expose even more people to this hidden gem, Colorado’s only all organic brewery.

Both hop heads and the environmentally conscious will be glad to hear that the first Asher beer to be available in cans will be the much loved Green Bullet Organic IPA. Long hailed as a fan favorite at the tasting room, festivals, and tap rooms around the area, the Green Bullet is a full bodied beer with flowery hop aroma and flavor, citrus undertones, and a distinct dry finish. Like all Asher beers, the Green Bullet is brewed with the finest organic hops, organic barley, and is vegan friendly.

Far from viewing their USDA organic certification as enough of an effort, the brewery’s commitment to sustainability permeates all decisions about the day to day operations as well. In the tap room this means that they utilize 100% wind power, decorate with re-purposed and recycled furniture, participate in recycling and composting programs, donate spent grains as farm feed and use eco-friendly cleaning products.

In the extremely eco aware marketplace of Boulder, consumers will notice the same care and attention has been utilized when bringing Asher’s first cans to the market.  One major factor that influenced the decision to can rather than bottle was that aluminum can be recycled indefinitely without losing its structural integrity. Because so many of them are recycled, aluminum cans account for less than 1% of the total U.S. waste stream, according to EPA estimates. Even the four pack holders that will allow customers to conveniently carry home their ice cold brews are made of 96% post-consumer recycled plastic.  “It is the seemingly small choices like this”, says the owner Chris Asher “that add up to a packaged beer that you can feel good about stocking your fridge with”. “Solving the world’s problems, one beer at a time” is the Asher Brewing Company motto after all.

Ultimately, it comes down to the beer. Most importantly for the beer, aluminum cans provide a lightweight container that prevents all light and oxygen exposure and keeps the beer fresher longer. As Chris and the others at Asher Brewing Company champion the organic beer movement, they are quick to point out something that all brewers and drinkers alike would agree with, “better ingredients make better beer.”

The Green Bullet Organic IPA will be available in 16oz cans and in 4 packs at Liquormart, Hazels, Whole Foods, Alfalfa’s, Gunbarrel Liquors in Boulder and Twin Peaks Liquor in Longmont beginning this week.