(Wild Wolf Brewing Company receives its well-deserved award)
Nellysford-based Wild Wolf Brewing Company received its third award as Virginia Green Brewery of the Year at the 2018 Virginia Green Travel Star awards. The Virginia Green program recognized 35 Virginia tourism-related businesses in March for outstanding efforts to protect the environment and support green tourism in Virginia.
“We are proud to receive this award for the third year in a row,” said owner, Mary Wolf. “We work hard to be an environmentally conscious business and look forward to continuously making the world and our community a better place.”
The environmental practices at Wild Wolf Brewing Company reach every aspect of the business: from the brewery, to the restaurant, to the office spaces as well as establishing programs to involve the community. Recycling, composting, and water and energy conservation are the main focal points for sustainability practices throughout the business.
In the brewery, all of the beers that go out in package are canned using recycled aluminum, which are easier to recycle and weigh less- using less fuel to distribute. A feeding program with a local beef farmer is in place to use the spent grain from the brewing process as feed for the cattle. In turn, Wild Wolf Brewing Company purchases the beef for their burgers. In the kitchen, scraps are used in the composting system which yields nutrient rich soil for the herb and vegetable garden. These practices, in addition to many others, ensure that nothing goes to waste at Wild Wolf Brewing Company.
“We hope to inspire businesses to take a look at how they could be improving their own sustainability practices and we look forward to growing our programs in the future,” said Wolf.
For the second consecutive year, Norfolk’s Coelacanth Brewing was recognized for outstanding efforts to protect the environment and support green tourism in Virginia.
“We are excited and proud to be recognized by the State for our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and leave a better Virginia for our children,” says Kevin Erskine, co-owner of Coelacanth Brewing, adding, “We’re one of only three breweries in the state to be recognized – and the only brewery in Hampton Roads– so we are especially proud. As Hampton Roads’ first certified Green Brewery, we invite other breweries to join us in our commitment to reduce the environmental impacts of producing great beer.”
