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Susan Morton

Sustainable Suds? Leave it to Patagonia.


Kernza Beer at Arizona Wilderness Brewery
photo courtesy of Arizona Wilderness Brewery

Patagonia, you know, is not just about clothing. Patagonia Provisions has been producing staple food stuffs for the outdoor (or indoor!) experience since 2012. But beer? Well they do like it, they say. And being Patagonia they must have wondered if good beer could be made in some more sustainable way. They already knew about Kernza®, an impressively deep rooted perennial that builds topsoil, protects water quality and prevents erosion. It’s an ingredient in their Kernza® Fusilli pasta. Surely its nutty and slightly spicy flavor

Kernza, a perennial grain.

would do well in beer! They reached out and found eleven breweries that were interested in giving it a try. Using their own local and organic ingredients, each brewery came up with a distinctive lager. Topa Topa calls their production “clean and crisp;” Sierra Nevada calls theirs “toasty and chocolaty.” Of the eleven, Sierra Nevada, Russian River and Topa Topa breweries are based here in California, but you can find links to all eleven at Patagonia Provision’s website. So far, these beers can only be enjoyed in a brewery’s taproom, but Patagonia says they will soon be available in aluminum cans. Keep posted!

Kernza beer at Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
photo courtesy of Sierra Nevada Brewing Company

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