Goose Island Beer Company out of Chicago recently released their Green Line Pale Ale, which is a beer aimed at reducing Goose Island’s environmental impact. The plan? Only serve it on draft. Thats right folks, going green now means serving your beer only on draft to save all the packaging. Congrats Blackfoot, you’ve been green for years!
Besides forgoing bottles and other packaging, the brewery says the city-only distribution will reduce the transportation and refrigeration footprint and the tap handles have been crafted from reclaimed ash trees killed by the ash borer in Wilmette. (We’ll give the brewery a pass for producing a line of “Green Line” pint glasses — their production and transportation couldn’t have been terribly eco-friendly).
Although I commend the effort and thought of Goose Island, people will still be drinking their beer out of bottles and simply selling a certain beer on draft doesn’t really reduce the environmental impact of the brewery itself. Perhaps if it stop bottling altogether or started emphasizing growlers instead of six packs. It was a good idea, but nothing like Kona’s efforts or many of the other craft breweries around the country. They say its the thought that counts, but not really when it comes to our environment, then it does take actions!
