AZ Brewers Championing Water Conservation

Beer brewing for the environment! Sure, it sounds like a curious form of advocacy, but what better way to pique public interest in water conservation than with rich, foamy beer? This clever approach, known as the AZ Pure Water Brew Challenge, and developed by Pima County's Southwest Water Campus team, won the $250,000 New Arizona Prize: Water Innovation Challenge. The AZ Pure Water Brew Challenge concept proved to be the "most innovative and inventive market-based, technological or entrepreneurial solution to advance the sustainability of its water future." The brew challenge won the top prize among 23 other entries in November 2016.

What's the challenge?

Brewers from all over Arizona will produce beer with "Pure Water" and compete for prizes in the Pure Brew Challenge at the National WateReuse Symposiumin Phoenix. The challenge is meant to better inform Arizonans about the water issues that affect them, smart water reuse, and the technologies that are currently available for purifying recycled wastewater. The Pure Water is produced at a treatment facility after being processed through an advanced mobile water purification unit, which uses a "sophisticated treatment schematic". Meaning: safe, high-quality drinking water. Still not confident about recycled wastewater? After all that treatment, "the water that emerges is so pure that minerals must be added for stabilization and pH adjustment" and "each sample batch will be confirmed to ensure the purified water meets all federal and state safe drinking water standards."

When is it?

On September 9th, Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) judges will rank the entries at the Mr. Beer offices here in Tucson. The following day, September 10th, the results of the Brew Challenge will be announced during the annual WateReuse Symposium at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Phoenix. Challenge winners will be awarded on September 13th – first place receives a HACH Orbisphere (valued at $12,000) and runner up received a HACH multimeter (valued at $3,000), both are water quality meters ideal for breweries.