Amelia Loftus eco home brewer

Eco-Brewing Writer & Designer

• Home brewing as an integral part of a self sufficient sustainable lifestyle •

Writing About Sustainable and Organic Brewing


Old book of home brew recipes and some ribbons

My first book, Sustainable Homebrewing, has just been published by Storey Publishing! It is about eco-friendly brewing. You can order a signed copy directly from me—the order details are at the bottom of this page.

You can also order an unsigned copy on Amazon.com: Sustainable Homebrewing: An All-Organic Approach to Crafting Great Beer

Another option: check with your local independent bookseller... they might stock it! After you read the book, an honest review on Amazon is also very much appreciated. The only way I can continue to improve my craft as a writer is with practice and the feedback of my readers! If you want to converse with me about home brewing, the book, or other related topics, visit my Facebook page and say hello :)

I have been writing about brewing for almost as long as I have been home brewing. In the beginning, I started a brewing log. I still have this collection of brewing notes and recipes from my early days as a home brewer. It is opened to one of the early organic recipes I developed while the organic homebrew supply business was still in the conceptual stages back in 1995. If you are starting out as a home brewer, you should keep a log too. It helps you refine your craft and makes it possible to repeat your successes as well as document and learn from your mistakes.

Over the years most of my writing has been for the Breworganic.com website as well as the brewing instruction sheets and other materials for the business. I also wrote a small organic beer recipe booklet which was self published by Seven Bridges Cooperative but now is no longer in print. A few years ago I wrote several articles for the home brewing audience, one of which was published in Brew Your Own Magazine in 2008.

Author Amelia Loftus holding her book Sustainable Home Brewing

Buy my book! You can order a signed copy of my book directly from me. It is $19, plus shipping if you need it shipped to you.

$19, price includes applicable sales tax.

Want a hand written caption?

If you live in the Santa Cruz or Monterey areas, you can come visit my solar powered coffee stand at one of the farmer's markets I do in the area. The current listing of active markets is posted on my farm's coffee page. If you live in the Santa Cruz area, you can also order my book along with coffee or other farm products from my local delivery page . Then it will be delivered to you on the next delivery day. How awesome is that!!


Here is a good summary of the concepts I had in mind when writing Sustainable Brewing:

Top 10 Ways to Be A “Good” Brewer

What makes a good brewer? When I say good brewer, I mean a maker of excellent beer that can win awards and amaze your beer loving friends. When I say good brewer, I am also talking about being conscious of the impact that your home brewing activity has on the environment, and incorporating sustainable practices into your regular brew routine. Sustainable brewing is all about choosing ingredients and supplies that have a lower impact on the environment, equipment that is made from durable, non toxic materials, and employing brewing practices that use as little energy and water as possible. It also involves reusing and recycling many of the brewing components such as spent brewing grains, cooling water, and beer bottles or kegs. When you become a good brewer, you will make outstanding beer that you can be proud of… and feel great about because you know the beer you love was brewed in balance with nature.

  1. Choose organic and sustainably grown ingredients that are grown as locally as possible. If you can, grow your own!
  2. Re-use leftover and spent ingredients as cooking ingredients, animal feed, or compost material.
  3. Re-use packaging. This one is easy, because if you home brew, you already re-use your bottles and/or kegs!
  4. Be water efficient: Save water when possible, and re-use brewing water for cleaning and to water your garden.
  5. Make great beer: Good beer will never be wasted, and so is the most efficient and sustainable use of ingredients possible!
  6. Be energy efficient: Conserve fuel or electricity by practicing conservation techniques in your home brewery and using free sources of energy such as solar heating.
  7. Choose eco friendly brewing equipment that has the lowest carbon footprint possible.
  8. Be as chemical free as possible. Use the minimum required cleaning chemicals, avoid chemical additives as much as possible, and choose cleaners and sanitizers that are as biodegradable and environmentally friendly as possible.
  9. Be socially responsible: choose ingredients, equipment, and supplies that support fair labor practices and are made by companies that have good environmental and social justice track records.
  10. Be a homebrewer. By brewing at home, you are reducing your beer consumption carbon footprint by removing the shipping and industrial cold storage of the finished beer you drink.