Big Grove is one of Iowa’s premier breweries, with locations in Solon, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, and Des Moines. Big Grove is praised for being a sustainable business, and is committed to doing good in all of their local communities. Being a Platinum Green Status Certified business by Green Breweries, it is no question that Big Grove is a leader. 

We sat down with Mikala Demet, Big Grove’s Community and Project Manager, who works closely with vendors, analysts, and support systems as Big Grove moves to be more eco-conscious. Mikala told us everything we need to know about Big Grove’s practices, which make them an awesome highlight for our Sustainability Highlights this summer, in pairing with our Promise to the Planet campaign!

OSE: Big Grove is known to be an eco-friendly business in Iowa City and surrounding areas. As a business, how does Big Grove combat challenges that arise when trying to be sustainable?

MD: I think one of the biggest things is looking at it from different angles. It's easy to get caught up in how much something costs, and looking at long-term return on investments rather than the upfront. We like to narrow in on one big project a year, while also focusing on smaller things. We ask ourselves, “What can we do right away?” We've partnered with the Iowa Waste Reduction Center quite a bit, and we are proudly a Platinum Green Status Certified Brewery here (Iowa City) and in Des Moines. One of the reasons we love that program is they do a splendid job of helping you evaluate your business while actively giving you suggestions on what to do. Expert advice always comes in handy. Knowing where to start is important and it's hard to do on your own. 

OSE: As an individual, when did you first start to be sustainably conscious? Tell me about that background!

MD: I was an Environmental Policy and Planning major in college. For me, it was when I was growing up in Wisconsin, and my family owned land for hunting. We are very nature-y. So, it started off more as an awareness of conservation, and taking outdoor vacations as a family. We weren’t the type to go to theme parks, we wanted to be out in nature and take exciting road trips. This influenced me to take more action as I got older. Appreciating the world around us comes into fruition when we invest in sustainability for future generations. Learning more about what our daily lives alone are doing to the environment, and making those changes where you are is what matters. 

OSE: Where does Big Grove source its ingredients?

MD: Our brewery production analysts actually just sent our sustainability report, and we get that annually, so all of us take that into account. We have a lot of different places where we source things, we try to work with local farmers as much as we can. Sourcing food is the harder part, but we do local ingredients where and when we can, especially dairy and meat suppliers. There's been a big push to do more barley and small grains here in Iowa. We are a part of the American Barley Association, so we're in support of that. Our different departments monitor what our vendors and suppliers do very closely as well. 

OSE: When referring to your sustainability efforts, what is your overarching goal?

MD: Our overarching goal is to be a leader, and to create goals that are achievable. If we are able to implement it, we will. We want to show that it can be done in this industry. You can be a successful business and take these things into close consideration. We try to look at what's missing and what's not working. A lot of that comes from the brewery side of things, since it’s all production and manufacturing. Right now, one of the issues we’ve dealt with is malt bags and grain bags. They, unfortunately, have this plastic material that can’t be recycled, so that has been our biggest waste issue as of now, and we’re currently working to try and solve that. We've gotten the contact for the Iowa Waste Exchange thanks to working with the University of Iowa Office of Sustainability and the Environment, and the Promise to the Planet campaign through that. There's always going to be something we can do better, and being aware of that is important.

OSE: How do you measure and track your company’s environmental impact?

MD: We have a tracking document system that tracks water usage and energy usage. We’ve done energy audits, so looking at those over time and seeing fluctuations and noticing bills going up is important to know where to target. Tracking in general is super key. 

OSE: Tell me about an example of something Big Grove does that is unique for sustainability efforts.

We have a ‘CiCi’ Unit. So, instead of bubble buckets that we call ‘blow off buckets, ' we're catching the Co2, then filtering that out into the air. Co2 is also used in the packaging of our beer, including kegging and canning. As you would probably figure, canning is one of our biggest ‘things’, obviously, right? The CiCi unit helps close the loop for fermentation, taking the Co2 byproduct, recapturing, then using downstream in the packaging of beer. During fermentation, Co2 is captured from our vessels and moves into 55-gallon drums via hoses. THe Co2 travels 150-200’ of hoseline into a pair of foam traps, and by the way, foam traps are the last line of defense to prevent liquids from entering into the CiCi unit. We’re happy to report that our CiCi unit has reduced our Co2 use by 120,000lbs or ⅓ less carbon than normal.

OSE: Can you detail any efforts made to minimize waste and promote recycling within your business?

MD: We actually do a really good amount of reusing and recycling. Over the past couple years, we have had a huge focus on recycling in our kitchens, and we have moved to doing composting here and at our Des Moines location. Right now, we’re working on doing that at our Solon location, since it’s smaller and there are more moving pieces, sometimes unexpected for a small location. We've reduced the need for trash, so much so, that we were able to get rid of one of our large trash dumps. Each month in Iowa City and Des Moines we compost about 8,000 pounds of food waste. We have a contractor we work with as well. Here in Iowa City, we participate in oil recycling, where old fry oil is taken, and they turn it into biodiesel. We’re super proud of that. Doing projects where we can in each location is a priority. In the brewery, we work with farmers to make cattle feed, and all of our spent grain goes directly to the farmers. Everything that goes in the mash to make beer goes to the farmers.That partnership has been going on for a really long time. Otherwise, all of that would just go to a landfill, which is completely unnecessary. 

OSE: What motivated you to incorporate sustainable practices into your business model?

MD: From the time our Solon location came about, ownership has been wanting to do things the right way. They’ve always said they wanted the place to be where your kids could work and where you wanna be. You have to make it last, and that was always a conscious effort. They have always sought out solutions to industry standards and seen how those could be raised higher. It's more than being proud of how much money you make, it's how well it runs from start to finish. We’re proud of the efforts we’ve made and will continue to make.