https://www.iastate.edu/For over five years, the mission of the Iowa Waste Reduction Center’s (IWRC) Iowa Green Brewery Certification (IGBC) program at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) has been to assist breweries in, and recognize them for, implementing practices and strategies that minimize their overall environmental impact. As of today, over 30 breweries in Iowa have been awarded a level of certification by the IWRC, but the latest brewery they have worked with isn’t really a brewery at all, it’s Iowa State University (ISU).

Nashville, TN was the place to be on May 7-10, 2023 for the Craft Brewer's Conference & Brew Expo America.

Five years ago this November, the idea for the Iowa Green Brewery Project (IGBC) had just begun developing. The Iowa Waste Reduction Center was looking to continue providing free environmental assistance to Iowa businesses, but on a more specific level. The craft beer industry was a natural fit. Resource intensive, rapidly expanding statewide, and industry interest in environmental stewardship, the IGBC started to gain traction.

NoCoast Beer Co., out of Oskaloosa, IA, achieved the Iowa Green Brewery Certification's Platinum award. NoCoast Beer Co. surpassed their bronze-level certification and is now the fourth Iowa brewery to ever earn a Platinum level achievement. https://iwrc.uni.edu/green-brewery

We are excited to congratulate Big Grove Brewery & Taproom, out of Iowa City, IA, for achieving the Iowa Green Brewery Certification's Platinum award! This month, Big Grove surpassed their gold-level certification by furthering their environmental efforts! The brewery celebrated by hosting an event on March 13, 2020, to officially be awarded the certification by the IGBC program. The day was filled with great beer and great talk of sustainability!

We are excited to congratulate Peace Tree Brewing Co., out of Knoxville, IA, on joining the ranks of the Iowa Green Brewery Certification! This month, Peace Tree received a gold-level certification at their Knoxville location for outstanding resource management and energy efficiency.  In addition to their original taproom in Knoxville, Peace Tree also has branches located in Des Moines and Grinnell. 

On Saturday, June 15th, we were excited to attend and be a sponsor at the Iowa Craft Brew Festival in downtown Des Moines. This year was the Iowa Brewers Guild’s 9th annual festival where craft breweries from all over Iowa got the opportunity to showcase some of their best beers. Over 70 craft breweries and cideries were featured at this year’s festival and around 20 of them had been certified through our Iowa Green Brewery Certification Program.

The Iowa Waste Reduction Center’s Iowa Green Brewery Certification Program has been selected as a 2019 Iowa Environmental Council “Pro H20” honoree.

We are excited to congratulate Brightside Aleworks, out of Altoona, IA, as they join the ranks of Iowa Green Brewery Certification program.  This past week, Brightside was awarded a silver-level certification.

We are excited to welcome Exile Brewing Company, out of Des Moines, IA, to the ranks of the Iowa Green Brewery Certification. This month, Exile earned a certification for their silver level achievement.