Mad Mole Brewing is a local brewery that focuses on sustainability and making a positive impact on the local community. Since its foundation, Mad Mole Brewing has crafted beer “Brewed by the Sun.” A 9×6 array of solar panels on the brewery roof helps to supply and offset power used for day-to-day operations, including  brewing. Mad Mole has also been able to expand its outreach through the development of an environmental internship program, and is now a state-wide leader in sustainable brewing.

Mad Mole’s first environmental initiative was the elimination of malt bag waste through reuse and recycling. All malt used in brewing is delivered to breweries across the Cape Fear Region in #5 polypropylene mesh weave bags. These bags are recyclable; however, the local recycling company does not process them. Mad Mole developed a partnership with the UNCW recycling center, which is now availble for all breweries in the Cape Fear region to bring Mad Mole has partnered with groups like Cape Fear River Watch and Keep New Hanover Beautiful sponsor local clean ups using malt bags as reusable clean up bags.

Expanding the scope of sustainability efforts has resulted in the development of a reuse and recycling program for 4 and 6 pack can carries, redesigning of the tap room, and the utilization of trub for composting. Most canned beer is sent out to market as 16oz cans in 4-packs held together with plastic carriers. These carriers are made from recycled plastic and are 100% recyclable but are not sorted properly and all end up going to landfill. Mad Mole has stepped in and now collects 4 and 6 pack carriers from the public and private companies. These carriers are washed and sanitized at the brewery and either reused or set aside for recycling with UNCW. In the Mad Mole tap room, old pallets and wood from a demolished house adorn the walls. This provides a warmer feel to the brewery and prevents the tossing of the wood. Composting trub is a simple but effective way of lowering the environmental impact of Mad Mole Brewing. Trub is spent yeast and hops that have settled down to the bottom of our fermenters and it is high in nitrogen and phosphorus. At Mad Mole, instead of sending trub down the drain to the sewer, the trub is contained in buckets and side streamed to the Wilmington Compost Company. This improves the quality of the compost created and significantly lowers the wastewater nutrient load that Mad Mole sends to the wastewater treatment plant.

Living in a coastal city that experiences frequent, heavy rain, means that proper management of stormwater is essential to maintain the health of our watersheds. Without healthy watersheds, there are risks to public health, fisheries, property value, and the local economy. As a further commitment to doing its part, Mad Mole Brewing is focused on how it can manage its stormwater to improve the health of nearby waterways. The brewery is in Wilmington, NC, and less than a quarter mile from Bradley Creek. The Bradley Creek watershed covers an area of 7.2 square miles with development on approximately 6.1 square miles.  Bradley Creek drains directly into the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway so any pollution or runoff that enters Bradley Creek will be transported across the salt marsh and into the ocean.

Through Heal Our Waterways Mad Mole was able to partner with UNCW and the North Carolina Coastal Federation as part of a 319 Grant application. This grant was approved and will help with the revision of Mad Mole’s parking lot. The current parking lot is covered entirely with impervious asphalt.  There are two gutter down spouts on the front of the building. These downspouts are responsible for draining the front half of the building. They run through the sidewalk and empty onto the asphalt where the water flows across the entire parking lot, straight to the street and down storm drains into Bradley Creek.

These are the most durable option for permeable pavers in high traffic areas such as parking lots. These pavers are lower maintenance and require less vacuuming to ensure proper water flow. This vacuuming would be kept up by Mad Mole Brewing employees as often as necessary. The stormwater runoff would drain into the ground between the pavers and be filtered, allowing the absorption to replenish our groundwater supply. Absorbed as groundwater, less of the water would become polluted and run into Bradley Creek and surrounding waterways.

With funds from the grant, Mad Mole will have four parking spaces, two spaces from the front of each downspout, of asphalt removed and a strip of asphalt removed from the end of the parking lot. The asphalt will be replaced with permeable pavers. Locating the permeable pavers in these locations, Mad Mole can maximize the impact of the permeable pavers by capturing water at the highest flow locations. These are the most durable options in high traffic areas such as parking lots. These pavers are lower maintenance and require less vacuuming to ensure proper water flow. This vacuuming would be kept up by Mad Mole Brewing employees.  Once installed, these features will substantially decrease the amount of pollution and dust making its way into Bradley Creek, helping to improve the watershed.