Brewery Offers Locally Filtered Water

Mary Donaldson/KMXT

The beer that you buy at the Kodiak Island Brewing Company is made with water from local streams, filtered right here in town. And now it’s being used for more than just brewing beer. A month ago, the brewery began selling inexpensive, locally filtered water. Mary Donaldson has more.

Brewery owner Ben Millstein has a quote he likes to share with people: “Coals to Newcastle.” Newcastle is a place in England where coal is traditionally mined, and the idea of taking coal there seems a little redundant. That’s what Millstein has in mind when he thinks of bottled water being shipped to Kodiak, where water resources are abundant.

He says we should be utilizing our local water resources, rather than buying bottled water shipped in from out of state.

(Millstein 1 :27s “…can we do here.”)

He says the idea of filtering local water and selling it to the public came from the city of San Francisco putting a ban on spending government money on bottled water, since they have their own water resources.

He says he would like to see Kodiak put a stop to sales of bottled water in local businesses, but for now, he would like to get the idea out to the public.

(Millstein 2 :20s “…way of beginning the conversation.”)

Millstein says since he filters local water at his brewery already, selling it to the public is not a hassle. He says a big reason for wanting to sell filtered water is because of the energy costs of shipping bottled water to the island.

(Millstein 3 :44s “…when it’s unnecessary.”)

Millstein also suggests that the Kodiak community can buy water filters for their homes to filter the water already accessible to them as another way avoid purchasing bottled water. He says anyone can stop by the Kodiak Island Brewery and have a growler or similar sized container filled with filtered water for one dollar. The Brewery is open noon to seven Monday through Saturday.

I’m Mary Donaldson.

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