Community
Sustainability
It’s a journey and one Makai Brewing Company is proud to be on. Here are some of the things we do to minimize our impact on the environment.
An environment Of Employee Awareness
Our employees are aware of the importance of sustainability. In our training process, we highlight basic sustainability principles and outline the specific measures Makai takes to care for our planet. Our brewers continually assess their impact on the environment.
Recycling Water
Over 95% of the water used to cool our beer is recaptured as hot water and used for the next brewday as well as for cleaning equipment. We use the minimum amount of water (and chemicals) required to clean our equipment, wash our kegs, and run our canning line. Water consumption is a key metric we watch closely.
Brewery Cleaning Products
All of our brewery cleaning and sanitizing products are environmentally friendly, biodegradable, and septic friendly. When used together they neutralize each other for safe disposal down the drain.
Recycle Disposable Products
Our disposable products in the form of cardboard, plastic and aluminum, including cans and lids, are recycled using our County recycle program.
Changes To Our Brewing Process
We are experimenting with using the natural CO2 formed during fermentation to carbonate our beers. If successful, we would reduce the CO2 needs by an estimated 60% in our brewhouse.
Establishing Future Sustainability Goals
As we continue to grow, we are looking at a broader set of sustainability measures including renewable power in the form of solar and wind.
Repurposing spent grains
At the end of each brewday we have between 250 and 400 pounds of spent grains. There is still nutritional value in those grains: 20-30% of the dry weight is protein, a small amount is soluble sugar, and 7-10% is crude fat, and all of it has a high degree of moisture. Brewery-spent grains contain 71 -75% total digestible nutrients. Given that, we have partnered with a local farmer to provide our spent grains free of charge for his livestock to enjoy. In general, animals tend to prefer food with some moisture content to dry feed.
Community Partners
Click on a community partner to learn more!
While we love sea turtles throughout the world, our work starts locally in our own backyard. OIBSTPO is licensed by the North Carolina Wildlife Commission, and works with a team of approximately 100 volunteer Field Scientists in a year-round effort to protect sea turtles. Makai Brewing Company brews a special beer release each year, the Loggerhead Lager, to support their efforts where we donate a portion of the beer sales.
Learn More
Paws-Ability is a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization that raises funds to assist local rescue groups and advance programs that improve animal welfare in Brunswick County, North Carolina. We take great pride in being a family of pet owners, mostly adopted, and support this great cause by joining Paws-Ability with many of their great events throughout the year.
Makai Brewing Company is a proud supporter of the Brunswick County Habitat for Humanity chapter which was founded in 1993, and is a locally run affiliate of Habitat for Humanity International. We believe that safe and decent shelter should be a fundamental human right. Habitat for Humanity’s goal and mission is to end substandard housing. People from all walks of life are invited to work together with them to help build and repair houses for those families in need.
Donations
To apply for a donation please fill out the donations and sponsorships form.