Penticton brewery proves sustainability is profitable

Tin Whistle Brewery in Penticton has won awards for its beer in the past, but this time around the award is for making that beer in an environmentally friendly way. 

Tin Whistle’s president Alexis Esseltine won Canada’s Clean50 Award for leadership in sustainability for turning her operation into a carbon-neutral brewery, according to a press release issued today, Oct. 16. 

“Receiving a Clean50 Award is an incredible honour that truly belongs to our entire team and community,” Tin Whistle president Alexis Esseltine said in the release. “We set out to prove that bold climate action and business success can thrive together—and our results show that sustainability isn’t just good for the planet, it’s good for people and profit too.”

Esseltine took over Tin Whistle Brewing back in 2020 when it was struggling. Now, 30 years after it opened in 1995, it’s back on track and focusing on sustainability.

In two and a half years the brewery quadrupled production and cut carbon emissions by 25 per cent, which ends up being 81 per cent fewer emissions per litre of beer.

It turned winery waste and waste from sake rice into award-winning beers. 

Tin Whistle has sent zero waste to the landfill, diverting around 11,800 kilograms to reuse or recycle. It reused more than 13,700 plastic can carriers. 

Esseltine also worked with the City of Penticton on an energy efficiency project that involved decommissioning a 25-year-old rooftop cooling unit and replacing it with a glycol chilling system that reduced the energy demand by 12,700 kilowatt hours.