Posted on Oct 26, 2015
Toilet to Tap Beer.
In April, an Oregon wastewater treatment operator challenged local home brewers to create a delicious beer from four ingredients: hops, barley, yeast (not so hard, right?)...
...and sewer water. Oh. According to Business Insider, "The point of the contest is not to find Portland's next trendy craft beer. Rather, it's an effort to get people talking about how a vital resource can be reused thanks to advanced water-filtration systems."
Oregon Live detailed the purification process the effluent underwent—ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, and advanced oxidation—while also noting that "this water couldn't be used for anything other than making beer," according to Oregon basin coordinator Avis Newell. (Oregon laws allow wastewater to be recycled for irrigation, industrial processes, and groundwater recharging purposes only.)
"Still," she added, "no one else in the state is attempting to do this."
Dozens of brewers competed, with the top recognition going to a German Pilsner. This week, a group of Business Insider staff sampled a selection of the contest entries.
"One colleague said she liked it and would drink it again ... [Others] tasted the Purewater Brew Munich Helles side-by-side with a Yuengling."
