25 Apr 2022
A collaboration with a difference.
We all know a neighbour, colleague, lady from the gym, or an Uncle Steve who brews their own beer (or who at least attempts to)! It’s a trend that’s taken the nation with everyone wanting to take a bob at the hop.
But did you know that Tyler Grange is also in the club?
For a while now, we have brewed beer for a bit of fun. It’s not work related; it’s just something that a few of us are quite passionate about, and that we can involve others in too. Not only can we get our hands dirty, but it allows us to crack open a cold one with our partners, clients and the team, as another way to show our appreciation and share some joy.
Our newest beer project, Phoenix, is one that we’re really excited about. Not just because it tastes incredible – think tropical notes and a New Zealand pale ale vibe – but it does good things for the local community, too.
We’re aware that it isn’t yet possible to brew a beer that has zero impact on carbon. That said, our aim is to brew a beer that has the smallest carbon impact possible. So, from the harvesting, packaging, transporting materials and the brewing process itself, we want to reduce the carbon emissions wherever we can. It’s a tricky challenge, but we like to think of ourselves as a ‘beer glass half full’ kinda team…ever the hoptimists, you might say.
So why this blog? Well, we wanted to be accountable and, whilst we can’t claim that this is 100% eco-friendly beer, we are confident that – in time – we can make it as low impact as possible. We also wanted this to have a positive impact – socially and economically for smaller, local businesses. We are more keen than ever to undertake this project with as little impact on the environment as possible since, as a challenge to ourselves, we await becoming a B-Corp certified business!
Whilst beer brewing is something that we have thoroughly enjoyed, it’s by no means easy.
The eventual hope is that after a few weeks you can sit back and sip on something delicious. However, in reality, that first taste on your lips can sometimes be described as being on the spectrum between a Sriracha sauce and a malt vinegar. Not what you want.
We always knew we couldn’t do this alone, which is why we brought in the expertise of Burning Soul Brewery.
Having recently opened a TG branch in Birmingham just down the road, it was almost as though the Beer Gods had aligned to make this collaboration happen! When we approached Chris at Burning Soul with our proposition, he was naturally intrigued. Not only do we share a passion for beer, but our values seemed to align just perfectly.
His aim is always to deliver a high-quality product that supports only the most local producers, suppliers, businesses and communities, and to deliver these products in the best way possible. We were both equally eager to ensure that this was a true collaboration that is meaningful, rather than sticking a label over someone else’s product; we wanted a 50/50 partnership with a purpose.
We came to him with the idea of creating this low carbon beer, which would then be given away to our clients and partners free of charge. Chris was relatively shocked that we’d be brewing this beer for no profit, especially when you consider the volume that we wanted to brew (a lot)!
This only intrigued him more. We shook hands and our Burning Soul x Tyler Grange collab was born!
We told Chris that we wanted to create a pale ale with a tropical hit, and he suggested a locally grown hop variety called…Phoenix! This was an exciting project for Chris. Not only did it give him some creative license to experiment with new, carbon saving methods, but we have also become one of his biggest customers!
The very nature of beer brewing makes it difficult to stay completely environmentally friendly, so we have taken the steps to do as much as we can to offset any harmful impacts. We selected locally sourced ingredients to reduce food miles, found the safest chemicals, reduced water waste, used renewable energy and recycled materials.
Not only this, but since we are using locally sourced ingredients, Chris himself has visited potential suppliers at their farm to see how things are being managed, how the hops and barley are being grown, what sort chemicals they are using, investigate which energy suppliers they are using, and assess what would be the best fit for us. That’s thorough!
May 2022 saw the first brew of Phoenix – our first brew with a carbon low aim.
We know there’s a way to go, but we’re only just getting started. In the coming months, maybe even years, we’ll be documenting our journey to carbon efficiency and sharing our progress on how we are continuing to reduce carbon, one footprint at a time.
For accountability updates, tips on brewing more sustainably, and how you can learn from our journey, be sure to check back regularly with us.
We hope we can inspire more conscious brewing!
Our partnership with Burning Soul doesn’t stop here!
Whilst the beer that we have created is one that is sure to please even the fussiest of taste buds, we are looking ahead for potentially some weird and wonderful seasonal releases in the not-too-distant future.
Watch this space.
Beer isn’t all we do!
Our team full of dedicated ecologists, arboriculturists and landscape planners are always on hand to provide the best service possible. They may even offer you some beer too! Get in touch here to find out more.
