Beers made from recycled wastewater have mostly been produced as demonstrations for trade shows and other water industry events.
But now such a beer is actually on sale at selected retail stores and restaurants in North Carolina. Renew Brew is a product of Charlotte Water, Town Brewing, and Xylem, the supplier of the water treatment technologies. The beer debuted last February, winning Best in Show in a blind-tasting competition at the Queen City Brewers Festival (Charlotte is known as the Queen City).
“Renew Brew not only delights the palate, but it also demonstrates the potential of recycled water in a practical, enjoyable way,” says Angela Charles, director of Charlotte Water, the Carolinas’ largest water and wastewater utility.
Renew Brew was first created for the beer festival, according to Muriel Steele, wastewater process engineer for the Charlotte Water Environmental Management Division, which operates the utility’s water resource recovery facilities.
“The focus of the festival was beers with a sustainability tilt,” Steele says. “We approached festival organizers and the brewery regarding partnering to make a recycled water beer. It’s a delicious beer; we got a lot of good press from it, and so Town Brewing decided to move forward with marketing the product.” Renew Brew is sold in 16-ounce cans, individually or in four-packs.
Rigorous treatment
The beer is brewed with QC Water, an ultra-sustainable recycled water, and carbon negative Epiphany Craft Malt. The source for QC Water is effluent from the 12 mgd McDowell Creek Water Resource Recovery Facility, which discharges to Mountain Island Lake, one of 11 lakes in the Catawba River basin and the primary drinking water source for Charlotte Water.
“We were worried about the ick factor, and so we went above and beyond with treatment,” says Steele. “We felt confident in the standard treatment at the McDowell plant. It serves a basin that has no major industry, so we didn’t have a lot of industrial contributions to worry about
“We have a lot of data supporting how high our effluent quality is there, and we did a variety of additional testing on the QC Water so that we could answer any questions or concerns coming from the public. And we made a lot of effort to market the beer in such a way that we captured the positives and didn’t linger on any negatives.”
Effluent that becomes QC Water goes through an additional series of steps:
- Filtration through activated carbon media to reduce solids and organic contaminants
- Reverse osmosis to remove salt, organics, trace pollutants and pathogens
- Ozone oxidation to inactivate and remaining pathogens and destroy trace pollutants that might remain after RO
- UV disinfection as additional insurance against pathogens – the process destroys 99.9999% of viruses and other pathogens and irradiates other contaminants
- A second round of filtration through activated carbon media, as one final barrier to impurities of any kind.
QC Water exceeds all pathogen reduction requirements, and production is monitored to meet Charlotte Water criteria based on the Safe Drinking Water Act. The water is tested for more than 150 contaminants. Xylem supplied the basic treatment technologies and oversaw the treatment operations.
As of this January, Town Brewing had produced two batches of Renew Brew from deliveries of 600 gallons and then 1,200 gallons of QC Water.
Promoting sustainability
Soon after the first batch of Renew Brew was made, all the Charlotte Water team members were invited to Town Brewing for a tasting. A keg was also taken by Town Brewing to the North Carolina State Fair, where it was featured in the North Carolina Agriculture and the North Carolina Brewers Guild Beer Garden at the North Carolina Public House at Dorton Arena. Since then it has been promoted in the community and on several large billboards beside Interstate Highway 77 in the Charlotte Metro area.
“We’ve had a lot of positive feedback,” Steele says. “People who drink the beer and visit our community events are enthusiastic and happy to see us trying to be forward-thinking. It’s a lot of coordination for a small-batch beer. We wanted to streamline the process and make sure we were doing things as sustainably as we could, being water-conscious and fuel-conscious.
“We’re also looking at options for partnering with other local companies that potentially want to make a different product. We haven’t fully explored that yet, but we would like to offer a nonalcoholic option.”
Director Charles observes, “The partnership with Town Brewing and Xylem has been fantastic because we all share the goals of creating a very high-quality water product while focusing on environmental sustainability every step of the way.”
Chris Thomson, Xylem’s director of vertical marketing for drinking water utilities, states, “Addressing water scarcity and planning for the future is a critical part of our business. Renew Brew opens the door for other renewable beverages in the Carolinas. We are thrilled to be part of the first chapter of what we know will be a long and important story.”
The brewer’s view
While conserving water, Renew Brew also adds value to the city’s thriving craft beer industry, notes Charles. Town Brewing was founded in 2018 by four home brewers. Federico De La Torre, head brewer, observes, “We feel so honored that Renew Brew has already become a favorite among beer drinkers in our community.”
Brandon Stirewalt, director of operations with Town Brewing, adds, “We’ve always believed that craft beer is about more than just great flavors; it’s about creating something that has a positive impact on our community and the world around us.
“Partnering on Renew Brew with Charlotte Water and Xylem has been an incredible experience. It allowed us to push the boundaries of brewing, and it aligns perfectly with our commitment to sustainability and local resources. Renew Brew isn’t just a beer—it’s a message that we all have a role to play in preserving the resources that sustain us.
“We’re excited to see how this project continues to evolve. We hope Renew Brew inspires more sustainable practices throughout the brewing industry. It’s a testament to the power of collaboration, and we’re grateful to be part of something that celebrates both innovation and community.”
Where to get it
While Renew Brew is not the first beer brewed with recycled wastewater, it is a rarity in its marketing as a consumer product. In 2017, Stone Brewing in California produced Stone Full Circle Pale Ale in cooperation with Pure Water San Diego for a special event.
In Kentucky, the Next Round Brewing project is a collaboration between local brewers and the Metropolitan Sewer District in Louisville to create craft beers using recycled water, again for special events. That project is in its sixth year.
In Arizona, the Desert Monks Brewing Company based in Gilbert plans to use recycled water from the Scottsdale Advanced Water Treatment Plant as a regular part of its processes.
In North Carolina, Renew Brew is being sold at Town Brewing; at grocery stores, restaurants and specialty shops in Charlotte; and at various retailers in several other cities. A portion of the proceeds from retail sales was earmarked for Helping Hands Outreach, a nonprofit dedicated to making clean water more accessible, affordable and reliable for all Charlotte residents.
