From planting to malt preparation, local companies work to reduce CO2 in producing your favorite brew

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, agriculture produces 10 percent of the U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Farmers at Perry Farms and malt masters at Epiphany Craft Malt are working to bring that number down. They are altering their farming practices, sourcing locally and looking at ways to go carbon-neutral.

Posted 10:00 a.m. Jun 2, 2021 — Updated 11:53 a.m. Jun 2, 2021

Peta Sheerwood

, WRAL meteorologist

A local farm and malting company are teaming up to reduce greenhouse gasses in the production of the nation's popular alcoholic beverage.

They are starting with that process out on the farm.

“Nitrogen fertilizer comes from fossil fuels and is by far the biggest piece of the CO2 emissions that we as a malt house create from growing the grain to malting it," said Sebastian Wolfram, founder and director of malting and roasting operations with Epiphany Craft Malt. "So, getting rid of that will wipe out 40 to 50 percent of our CO2 footprint as a business right away.”

That is why they source their barley grains, a key ingredient for making beer, from Perry Farms.

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“What we do is for the long haul,” said Tim Kuhls, farmer at Perry Farms.

He said the farm is moving away from industrial farming and instead using an old-school planting and harvesting method that is less disruptive and more sustainable. It’s called carbon sequestration.

“The old, traditional way is to use a plow to flip the soil upside down and expose the root system, then all the organic matter will disappear. We keep all the organic matter in the soil, which helps build the soil health as well as keep the carbon in the ground, and it reduces the amount of nitrogen we have to use to fertilize,” said Kuhls.

A proper harvesting technique will be key. “When we harvest this crop, it will cut it, almost to the ground. We will leave a little bit of stock residue, and then with our no-till planters, we will plant right into this residue with soybeans on top of it. So, it will keep this crop residue as a mulch, which will retain water in the soil and keep the soil from eroding too,” Kuhls said.

Ultimately that is limiting the amount of CO2 being released into the atmosphere and the amount of nitrogen they would use for fertilization.

“So that keeps the root system of this plant in the ground, and we plant right into it. That root system that’s sequestered to carbon on the ground stays there," said Kuhls.

Perry Farms methods keep all the organic matter in the soil, which helps build the soil health as well as keep the carbon in the ground.

Efforts to reduce greenhouse gases in the beer industry doesn't stop there. It continues with the malting process.

As the bridge between the local farmers and brewing companies, Wolfram says to keep beer taps flowing in the future, now is the time to act.

“The crops are important to us, and I want to see the malting business around for the next 20 to 25 years,” said Wolfram.

That’s why they drafted up a plan to go carbon-neutral two years ago. He said it is not a complicated conversation to have with farmers because they know how challenging it has gotten over the last 10 years.

“The biggest chance for us is volatility. So, the weather patterns are more extreme. It’s not just heat but the hurricane season is more intense and longer,” said Kulhs.

Outside of tropical systems, heavy rainfall days in North Carolina are on the rise.

“We’ve seen farmland that hasn’t been under water since Hurricane Hazel. On a random weekday afternoon, we get so much rain that it will induce a flood and cause problems for everything we do here on the farm,” said Kuhls.

What Perry Farms does today is to ensure farming is an option for Kuhls' children in a more sustainable way.

Lack of cold winter days could lead to more insects. “Those days of freeze that are missing – that are just cold – lead to more and more insects in the field, and when they get harvested, they stick around going to the bin. Over the winter, when we get the crop for malting more and more, we have to clean better and manage those pests. They eat up the grain. We don’t want them here. Our customers don’t want them,” said Wolfram.

Epiphany also partnered up with Indigo Agriculture at the Research Triangle Park to look at ways they could continue to reduce their greenhouse gas emission, work with farmers to further adapting practices like carbon sequestration and reducing nitrogen fertilizer which is sourced from fossil fuels.

Some of the breweries Epiphany works with are Fullsteam Brewery in Durham and Trophy Brewing in Raleigh.

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