From toilet to tap to beer - 1st December 2023

The western states of the USA are facing a water crisis. The drought has pushed people to search for alternative sources of water. In San Francisco, two companies have developed technology that transforms used grey water from a skyscraper into beer. Aaron Tartakovsky, CEO of one of the companies named Epic Cleantec, describes the beer.

Aaron Tartakovsky: "It tastes like a nice, crisp, Kölsch style ale. You'd have no idea the source of the water. It's just nice, pristine drinking water and it's a fantastic beer. And I'm going to drink another sip."

The technology includes a filter membrane that's a thousand times thinner than a human hair. The wastewater's filtered through the membrane, after which it's disinfected with ultraviolet light and chlorine.

The majority of this water's reused by the skyscraper's water systems. However, the rest is supplied to the Devil's Canyon Brewery to produce beer. Brewery owner Chris Garrett was originally surprised by the concept, but he's keen to act responsibly during the water crisis.

Chris Garrett: "When Aaron reached out to us at first we were a little set aside, and we were like, well what are people kind of think? And then the more we thought about it, it made a whole lot of sense. And we, we have to make a change today. We're running out of water and we need to find a way to incorporate that into every day and things like beer."

Californian law bans selling wastewater beer. However, the two companies have been handing out free cans to increase awareness.

Americans who aren't keen on drinking this water call it 'toilet to tap'. However, California's facing a water crisis and needs to explore all options. As a result, the state's encouraging wider use of the new technology by the end of the year.

Tartakovsky's hopeful that public opinion on recycled water will change.

Aaron Tartakovsky: "When I first entered the industry, a lot of people said that the public is just not ready for recycled water, that public perception is too difficult for people to overcome. And I think what our beer project has showed people is that the public is a lot more ready for recycled water than we give them credit for."