Mad Mole Brewing’s Green Initiative continues strong. Wilmington, NC July 13, 2023
One year into improving sustainability, Mad Mole Brewing has made dramatic differences and has more plans for the future.
Beginning in 2020, Mad Mole Brewing began to look at reducing their waste streams and ways to improve the sustainability of the brewery. From its inception, Mad Mole Brewing has always considered the impact the business has on the environment. This is shown through the addition of solar panels to the roof prior to opening to make beer that is “Brewed by the Sun.”
Since May of 2022, Mad Mole Brewing has opened its doors to Environmental Science majors from UNCW to pursue an internship. “Without the hard work of our interns, the strides we have made towards a more sustainable operation would not be possible.” – Dano Ferons, Operations Manager. When Mad Mole began looking at sustainability within its operation it started small by focusing on the redirection of trub (spent yeast and hops from fermenters) from the sewer to compost and the reduction of water usage throughout operations. Once the interns got involved, the sustainability projects began to take off. Carmen Keene (Summer 2022) began a recycling program for the #5 plastic bags we receive our malt in which was expanded to all regional breweries and continues to be a major part of sustainability efforts. Helia Schoenfeld (Fall 2022) focused her approach on the day-to-day operations of the brewery. Through her research Mad Mole Brewing was able to begin working with the Wilmington Compost Company to turn our trub into compost on a larger scale. Additionally, she was able to source salvaged wood that could be used for the decoration of the taproom. Maddy Maranda (Spring 2023) assisted in the expansion of our Pak-tec recycling program through the drafting of pamphlets and the creation of a system for on-site handling. More importantly, Maddy looked at how stormwater was being managed at Mad Mole Brewing. She fostered a relationship with the North Carolina Coastal Federation who are assisting Mad Mole in pursuing pervious pavement solutions to reduce the runoff from the breweries parking lot and lower any impact on the health of Bradley Creek.
Through the relationship Maddy Maranda fostered with the NC Coastal Federation and UNCW, Mad Mole Brewing was able to be part of a grant application through the NCDEQ 319 Grant Program. We have been informed that our grant bid was successful, and we will be receiving the funding to install PowerBLOCK permeable pavers in the Mad Mole Brewing parking lot. These pavers will allow stormwater to flow into the ground and reduce the impact of runoff flowing into Bradley Creek. We are really excited about the project moving forward and proud to have partners like the NC Coastal Federation and UNCW. This project would not have been possible without the involvement of Maddy Maranda and the UNCW Department of Environmental Science.
Mad Mole Brewing was established in 2018 and is in Wilmington, North Carolina. Mad Mole continues looking forward to providing the best quality beer possible to our customers while being mindful of the impact we make on the environment. “Even though we are small, we hope to make an outsized impact on sustainability within our industry” – Dano Ferons. More information can be found on our Instagram.
For more information please contact:
Byron McSweeney
Mad Mole Brewing General Manager