Beer will help power Alaska brewery

AAA??Feb. 4, 2013?3:42 AM ET
Beer will help power Alaska brewery
By JOSHUA BERLINGERBy JOSHUA BERLINGER, Associated Press??

In this photo taken Jan 23, 2013, in Juneau, Alaska, Brandon Smith, the Alaskan Brewing Co.'s brewing operations and engineering manager, speaks to reporters about the company's new boiler system. The brewery has installed a unique boiler system that burns the company's spent grain the accumulated waste from the brewing process into steam which powers the majority of the plant's operations. (AP Photo/Joshua Berlinger)

In this photo taken Jan 23, 2013, in Juneau, Alaska, Brandon Smith, the Alaskan Brewing Co.'s brewing operations and engineering manager, speaks to reporters about the company's new boiler system. The brewery has installed a unique boiler system that burns the company's spent grain the accumulated waste from the brewing process into steam which powers the majority of the plant's operations. (AP Photo/Joshua Berlinger)

In this photo taken Jan 23, 2013, in Juneau, Alaska, is the outside of the Alaskan Brewing Co. The brewery has installed a unique boiler system that burns the company's dried, spent grain or waste accumulated by the brewing process into steam which powers the majority of the plant's operations. (AP Photo/Joshua Berlinger)

In this photo taken Jan 23, 2013, in Juneau, Alaska, are six-packs of beer displayed at the Alaskan Brewing Co. The brewery has installed a unique boiler system that burns the company's spent grain the accumulated waste from the brewing process into steam which powers the majority of the plant's operations. (AP Photo/Joshua Berlinger)

In this photo taken Jan 23, 2013, in Juneau, Alaska, steam billows from boilers at the Alaskan Brewing Co. The brewery has installed a unique boiler system that burns the company's spent grain the accumulated waste from the brewing process into steam which powers the majority of the brewery's operations. (AP Photo/Joshua Berlinger)

This photo taken Jan 23, 2013, in Juneau, Alaska, shows the bottling line inside the Alaskan Brewing Co. The brewery has installed a unique boiler system that burns the company's dried, spent grain or waste accumulated by the brewing process into steam which powers the majority of the plant's operations. (AP Photo/Joshua Berlinger)

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) ? The Alaskan Brewing Co. is going green, but instead of looking to solar and wind energy, it has turned to beer itself.

The Juneau-based beer maker has installed a unique boiler system that burns the waste accumulated from the brewing process to create steam which powers much of the brewery's operations.

Company officials now joke they are now serving "beer-powered beer."

Four years ago, the company started looking at whether it could use spent grain as an in-house, renewable energy source and reduce costs at the same time.

It contracted with a North Dakota company to build the special boiler system after the project was awarded nearly $500,000 in a grant.

The craft brewery is expecting big savings once the system is fully operational in about a month's time.

Associated PressNews Topics: Business, General news, Science, Breweries, Beer, Alternative energy, Alcoholic beverage manufacturing, Beverage manufacturing, Food, beverage and tobacco products manufacturing, Consumer product manufacturing, Consumer products and services, Industries, Agriculture, food and beverage manufacturing, Alcoholic beverages, Beverages, Food and drink, Lifestyle, Energy

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-02-04-Beer-Powered%20Beer/id-733eaebc930d4a678ebd37e4cbcef0c3

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