Written by Samantha Nordstrom

Defend Our Future hosted “Defend Our Beer” from 4-6 p.m. at Ramskellar Bar and Grill inside Colorado State University on Wednesday, March 27. Roughly 60 people attended, making the event a huge success for Defend Our Future.

Defend Our Future ambassador Lizzy Feinberg hosted a discussion panel with four breweries: Charlie Hoxmeier from Gilded Goat Co., Karla Baise from Odell Brewery, Jeff Biegert from New Belgium Brewery, and Tony Massaro from the Business of Water Stewardship.

“It was a very cool experience to host the panelist discussion and see the audience so eager to ask questions and the panelists so excited to answer,” Feinberg said. “My job as host was so easy because they all had so much to say.”

The brewery discussion panelists spoke about how they’re implementing sustainability initiatives within their breweries. Gilded Goat Co., a smaller brewery, is focusing on water conservation. Odell Brewery has just launched technology for C02 recapture, a project that’s been a long time coming, according to Baise.

After the panel, the bands Violet Visionaries and Pseudo Crush and the musician Clay Kleinman played live music. Fort Collins Utilities also participated in the event, rallying participants to take their survey on water conservation. Feinberg thought the turnout was great.

“Everyone who showed up seemed excited to learn and engage in these topics, and all brought up really interesting questions and perspectives,” Feinberg said.

Colorado State University student Rebecca Lampl heard about the event on Instagram and thought it was very cool because it combined a fun activity like drinking beer with learning about what sustainable initiatives local brewers are taking.

“It was awesome to see the diversity of the breweries and how they each contributed to a bigger goal,” Lampl said.

According to Feinberg, the Student Sustainability Center and the Music Business Collective assisted Defend Our Future in organizing the event. The goal was to curate a discussion panel that brought expertise in beer production, sustainability, and water conservation. They also ensured that both small-scale and large-scale breweries were represented. The Music Business Collective selected artists and bands who shared a passion for sustainability to perform.

“This event wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible panelists, contributors, artists/bands, the Ramskellar for hosting, and all the other amazing individuals who helped plan and execute our business,” Feinberg said.

Feinberg hopes that Defend Our Future can explore more educational events and host more “Defend Our…” events in the future.”

To get involved in Defend Our Future, follow Defend Our Future on Instagram or email lizzy.feinberg@colostate.edu. Additionally, follow the Student Sustainability Center on Instagram and subscribe to the Green Bulletin email list to stay updated on the latest events.

To reach The Green Bulletin, contact the SSC Content Officer at samanthanordstrom1@gmail.com