What’s the most significant ingredient in beer? Water. Two local brewers have experimented with a unique water source for a unique craft brew: recycled water from Louisville MSD.
The Next Round Brewing project—now in its sixth year and the second time in Louisville—will serve this year’s products at the Water for Life Festival on Sunday, September 8, at Carrie Gaulbert Cox Park. The festival is part of the Kentucky-Tennessee Water Professionals Conference, an annual gathering of nearly 2,000 water sector employees from Kentucky and Tennessee. The two participating brewers—Apocalypse Brew Works and Holsopple Brewing—will provide tasting samples of their Next Round brew.
What is recycled water and how does Next Round Brewing Work?
Louisville MSD’s product is recycled water (treated wastewater). Every day, the utility collects the community’s used water and treats it at one of its 20 Water Quality Treatment Centers—in Bullitt, Jefferson, and Oldham counties—before releasing it into local waterways. The treated wastewater or effluent that MSD discharges into our waterways is cleaner than the water already in the receiving water body, meeting strict regulatory guidelines.
For the Next Round project, recycled water from MSD’s award-winning Floyds Fork Water Quality Treatment Center in Jefferson County was put through additional treatment, with independent third-party laboratories verifying its quality for brewing. Two local brewers—Apocalypse Brew Works and Holsopple Brewing—used the recycled water as their source for craft brews.
Beer’s connection to water
Kentucky’s craft brew business is rapidly growing, with 88 breweries as of March 2024. Water quality is critical because most of beer is water. For brewers in the Louisville area, that water usually comes from Louisville Water Company and often goes directly into the recipe.
No new water
So why experiment with recycled water? MSD and water professionals from Kentucky and Tennessee want to demonstrate the quality that goes into not only producing drinking water but also treating all the water we use. Because there is no “new” water, utilities like MSD and Louisville Water must focus on science to provide exceptional wastewater treatment and high-quality drinking water.
Additionally, Next Round Brewing is an opportunity to discuss the future of water. Our city is fortunate. The Ohio River provides us with an abundant source of water. However, across the United States, water-stressed communities in Arizona, California, Colorado, and Florida are investigating the use of recycled water as a source of drinking water.
Ultimately, the Next Round Brewing project will spark a conversation about water and create a new appreciation for something most of us take for granted.
