How Green Is My Beer?

Benjamin Franklin once said, "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." Wise words! That's why we've compiled ten quick questions to help you determine how green of a quaffer you are.

(Hate quizzes? Skip straight to the answers.)

1. You're planning to throw the St. Patrick's Day party of a lifetime, but you want to keep the environment in mind. Should you go with cans, bottles, or a keg?
   Keg.
   Cans.
   Bottles.
   

2. Your favorite beer comes from:
   A foreign country.
   A beer-maker that advertises during the Super Bowl.
   A local microbrewery.
   

3. You love keeping your fridge well-stocked with your favorite brew, but you bought that appliance when the first President Bush was in office. Which is better for the environment: tossing old faithful and buying a new fridge, or waiting until it dies?
   It's time for a new one.
   It's wasteful to dump something that still works fine.
   

4. Which container takes more energy to manufacture: a glass bottle or an aluminum can?
   Bottle.
   Can.
   

5. In terms of beer consumption per capita, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Germany, and Australia are among the top countries. Which of those countries has the highest carbon emissions per capita?
   Czech Republic.
   Ireland.
   Germany.
   Australia.
   

6. In 1998, which beer company was the first in the U.S. to use wind power for its operations?
   Pyramid.
   Samuel Adams.
   New Belgium.
   Blue Moon.
   

7. You just threw the beach party of a lifetime. That's great, but it left behind a lot of trash. Picking it all up is the right thing to do because the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is believed to be twice the size of
   Vermont.
   Arkansas.
   New Mexico.
   Texas.
   

8. Which of the following actions are innovative brewers taking to save the environment?
   Using distribution trucks that run on vegetable oil.
   Exploring ways to convert excess beer into ethanol fuel.
   Using a fuel-cell battery to convert wastewater into energy.
   All of the above.
   

9. Climate change is affecting beer lovers because
   Reduced snow mass in the Rockies is threatening Coors production.
   The changing climate is adversely affecting a key ingredient of lager, which is changing how the beer tastes.
   Scandinavian beer production has increased, thanks to more warm days.
   The CO2 created during fermentation may need to be regulated by the EPA.
   

10. You're interested in taking up home brewing but you want to use organic ingredients. How does that change the process?
    The fermentation process takes longer.
    You have to purchase a specially certified sanitizer for your equipment.
    It doesn't.