Beer made from recycled shower and laundry water hits the shelf in Virginia
VENN
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — If you feel like you’ve tried just about every beer on the market, a California-based company is bringing brews made from an unexpected ingredient: recycled water.
Epic Cleantec has announced that it will begin distributing its Shower Hour IPA and Laundry Club Kölsch across several states, including Virginia.
The San Francisco-based business describes itself as a “pioneer in onsite water reuse solutions for the real estate industry.” It partnered with the San Carlos-based Devil’s Canyon Brewing Company to create the new products that feature shower and laundry water from the buildings that use Epic’s on-site purification systems.
Epic Cleantec's Shower Hour IPA and Laundry Club Kölsch (Courtesy Epic Cleantec)
Epic Cleantec's Shower Hour IPA and Laundry Club Kölsch (Courtesy Epic Cleantec)
Epic Cleantec's Shower Hour IPA in production (Courtesy Epic Cleantec)
“As water and infrastructure challenges grow worldwide, buildings continue to discard perfectly good water with tremendous potential for reuse,” Epic Co-Founder and CEO Aaron Tartakovsky said in a release. “By creating Shower Hour IPA and Laundry Club Kölsch, we’re giving people a fun and approachable way to see recycled water in a new light. If a single great beer can change minds, imagine the impact of these advanced water reuse technologies when deployed at scale.”
According to the business, buildings worldwide use about 15% of potable water — but “almost none” recycle it. Epic argues that its reuse practices improve the efficiency of water systems.
The company’s Shower Hour IPA also features Azacca hops, Fonio grain and Kveik yeast.
Both new beer styles serve as Epic’s first commercial release. In November 2022, the brand launched a non-commercial run of its first-ever recycled water beer titled OneWater Brew. After the 7,500-can release, TIME recognized the company’s reuse system as one of the best inventions of the year.
The new products are currently available for online purchase in Alaska, California, the District of Columbia, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.
