Ingredient Insight: Ohio brewer makes green beer to raise drinking water awareness

Sometimes in craft beer, ingredients are chosen for reasons beyond flavor. Ohio’s Maumee Bay Brewing Co.’s new Algae Booms sour double IPA includes a heaping of green tea matcha powder and fresh kiwi, which result in a green beer. Brewer Chris Clarke did this not just as a novelty (although it was initially going to be a reference to the Ninja Turtles, according to the Toledo Blade), but as a public service announcement to raise raise awareness about the health of Lake Erie and the area’s drinking water, which was affected by the growth of toxic algae over the summer.

So yes, while the brewery sources city water, which comes from Lake Erie, it is safe, and the beer does not taste like algae, but hey, if more awareness isn’t raised about the local drinking water, who knows what the future holds. From the Associated Press:

Mr. Clarke said he aimed for a “sludgy, murky-looking” drink reminiscent of the now-famous bright green slime that fouled the water in August, 2014, when more than 500,000 metro Toledo residents were issued a “do not drink” order for the tap water due to microcystin found in algal blooms on Lake Erie.

“I think the main goal for us is awareness of our environment and the state that it’s moving toward,” he said. “If we do take action now we can set ourselves up for a brighter future.”

The AP reports that the Ohio Environmental Council is also helping to promote the brew as part of a campaign to highlight the importance of investing in clean, safe drinking water.