8 Great "Green" Beers

Does the idea of cheap, light beer mixed with blue food coloring make your tastebuds recoil? Inspire your inner beer geek to launch into a huffy, indignant tirade? Good news, it doesn't have to be that way with green beer. Consider a less literal take and enjoy a couple rounds of "green" beer.

Call them what you will — sustainable suds, locavore lagers, Captain Planet's preferred pints — there's a lot to be impressed with when it comes to breweries' efforts to "go green." Examples range the gamut from detail-oriented awareness, like Steam Whistle Brewery's decision to use painted logos instead of paper labels, to big-picture initiatives. Note Sierra Nevada's program to produce its own biofuel to power its delivery trucks, or Brooklyn Brewery's achievement as the first New York City company to use 100% wind-generated energy.

Of course, there is perhaps no better example of a brewery invested in the eco-friendly game than Fort Collins, Colorado's multi-award winning New Belgium Brewery. A market leader in the sector, it has been called "the most environmentally friendly beer in the USA." Considering the operation runs on multiple sources of renewable energy, cut its cardboard usage by 150 tons, and even employs bike couriers to pick up bottles from local bars and restaurants for recycling — there's almost nary a non-green bone in this beer's body. Thirsty for more?

Click here for the 8 Great "Green" Beers Slideshow.

Additional research by James Tredwell.