Brewery Ommegang: Water Supply In Danger
by Jim Vondracek on 01/15/12
Fracking and Gas Drilling Threaten Brewery's Water
On a blog I subscribe to - Beer Activist - I read an interesting post about Brewery Ommegang, a well-respected New York brewery that makes Belgian style beers. The brewery, in a court brief, is opposing a lawsuit brought by the gas industry against the town of Middlefield. The town bans gas drilling and the lawsuit seeks to overturn the ban.
The brewery is specifically concerned with the practice of hydrofracking: "Its Masterbrewer and Quality Control Chemist agree that even if Brewery Ommegang wished to do so, it could not remove many of the toxic chemicals used in hydrofracking, should they be released into the brewery's water supply."
You can read a news article about this at http://thedailystar.com/localnews/x1267472742/Ommegang-Fracking-may-force-us-to-leave
Beer Activist is an interesting blog. Here's what the author, Chris O'Brien, says about himself:
Beer Activist is the blog of Chris O'Brien, author of Fermenting Revolution: How to Drink Beer and Save the World (New Society Publishers, 2006). The blog is dedicated to my two favorite things: drinking beer and saving the world.
By day, I am the Director of Sustainability at American University. I have also worked as Director of the Responsible Purchasing Network at the Center for a New American Dream, and Managing Director of the Co-op America Business Network and the Fair Trade Federation.
I've traveled much of the world researching local brewing traditions, including the four corners of Africa, and did a short stint as a quasi-professional brewer at the Zululand Brewing Company in Eshowe, South Africa. My beer writing appears in places like American Brewer, Mid-Atlantic Brewing News, Zymurgy and New Brewer.
I am part owner and a board director of Seven Bridges, which is a brick and mortar store in Santa Cruz, CA and an online retailer (www.breworganic.com) of organic brewing supplies, and organic/fair trade home coffee roasting supplies.
I speak at conferences, festivals, beer tastings and other events involving beer, books and saving the world. I’m available to speak at your event. Just email me: beeractivist [at] gmail.com.
