In the next 80 years, climate scientists expect the sea level to rise somewhere between a foot or two, meaning that much of Florida and other coastal regions will be under water and clean drinking water will become more difficult to access. The changing climate is also expected exacerbate wildfires, droughts and insect outbreaks, not to mention increasing the risk of pandemics like the one that we hope we’re almost done with.
But here’s the question that most scientists have overlooked so far: What will this do to the beer selection?
The future is looking bad for beer
In honor of Earth Day this week, New Belgium Brewing Company took this query into its own hands. Given what we know about how climate change is expected to impact agriculture and clean water access, it developed a recipe for a post-apocalypse beer: Fat Tire Torched Earth Ale.
Using only ingredients available in a future that the brand says it “hopes doesn’t exist,” including smoke-tainted water, dandelions and drought-resistant grains, New Belgium did its best to create a drinkable brew. The result? Not great.
New Belgium wants other businesses to join the fight
But through the experiment, the brewery hopes to encourage action among big businesses, urging consumers to put pressure on businesses to do their part in addressing climate change. Pointing out that 70% of Fortune 500 companies don’t have a climate plan, New Belgium created a website that allows fans to ask them to develop one.
“If you don’t have a climate plan, you don’t have a business plan,” New Belgium CEO Steve Fechheimer said in a statement. “Aggressive action to help solve the climate crisis is not only an urgent environmental and social imperative—it’s also a no-brainer for companies seeking to create long-term shareholder value, compete with rivals like China, and create good-paying jobs here at home.”
Fechheimer also pointed out that New Belgium is just a medium-sized company, with a “medium-sized impact.” To really make a dent, “We need more of the big guys to step up, too.”
A legacy of environmental activism
The Fort Collins, Colo.-based beer maker, responsible for fan favorites like the Fat Tire Amber Ale, has made sustainability central to its mission since it was founded in the ’90s. Last year, Fat Tire became the first carbon neutral beer brand in the U.S., and the brewery is on track to achieve carbon neutrality for its entire operations by 2030. Katie Wallace, director of social and environmental impact for the beer maker, was named one of Adweek’s Sustainability Stars this year.
This isn’t the first time that New Belgium has used incorporated an environmental message into its marketing efforts, either. Last summer, the company offered another vision of the future, increasing the cost of a Fat Tire six-pack to $100, reflecting the way prices of barley, wheat and rice is expected to rise as a result of climate change-related disruptions to agriculture.
For the new campaign, created in partnership with creative agency Red & Co., New Belgium is also promoting the new Torched Earth ale through paid media and social including an ad in The New York Times and certain podcasts. The brand also sent apocalypse survival kits to like-minded industry professionals and influencers, which included items that might be useful in the era of Torched Earth ale, such as military field rations (known as MRE or meals ready to eat), canned fish, a wearable compass and solar charger.
