Innovation

The property’s rain garden allows for 15% of the rainwater that hits the roof of the building to percolate back into the ground, instead of flowing into Cooper Creek, which is located further down the street that the brewery sits on. According to Muller, rainwater “…run[s] into Cooper Creek which runs into Cooper River which runs into the Delaware River which runs into the ocean.” This rush of rainwater leads to erosion and buildup of trash in major bodies of water. The redirected rainwater drains into a plant garden, which, along with returning the water to the earth, keeps the plants alive without constant maintenance and fertilizing.

The energy-efficient brew kettle on the property helps to reuse the steam that would typically result from an average brew kettle. With every 5-gallons of beer produced, 1 gallon of hot water is generated to use for processing. Instead of sending the steam out into the atmosphere and using an extra gallon of water, this kettle redistributes steam as a water source. The boiler on the property is another example of an energy-efficient piece of equipment that the brewery implemented. The boiler is an on-demand boiler, as opposed to the conventional always-on boiler. This on-demand feature saves a significant amount of energy. According to Muller, most breweries use boilers with 1000 gallon tanks, while this boiler uses a 60 gallon tank. It only boils water when it is needed as opposed to all of the time, and it only takes 10-15 minutes to turn cold water into high pressure steam.

Inspiration

Muller grew up in an area that had plenty of open space – he spent a lot of time outdoors. He fostered an interest in the environment from a young age, and this has carried on through his life. To date, he is still very involved in many environmental organizations and has instilled in his employees, as well as his customers, the importance of protecting and preserving the environment and making sustainable choices. He explained that a motto that his organization lives by is, “Do what’s right for the planet as well as what’s right for Flying Fish.” Another factor that encouraged Muller to implement such sustainable practices is the nature of the product that he is selling. He explained, “We make an agricultural product, people understand that you need clean air and clean crops to make clean beer.” This shows that not only is sustainability beneficial to the world as a whole, but it is beneficial to Flying Fish Brewing from a business perspective as well.

Overall impact

Muller believes that sustainability is a benefit both to the environment and to the business. By leading through example, he is able to extend his ideas and innovations to his employees, his customer base, and groups that come in to tour the property. His innovations have helped to reduce the amount of energy used through the production of Flying Fish beer products, as well as reduce and reuse resources such as water.

Business benefit

Muller made it a point to state several times throughout our conversation that while much of the equipment was initially a very expensive purchase, it eventually paid for itself. For example, the high-efficiency boiler cost $300,000 up-front, but it paid itself off completely within three years, and is continuing to save the business money as it is used. Additionally, when customers are aware of the ingredients used in the product, and the quality of these ingredients, they are more confident about spending their money on it.

Social and environmental benefit

As mentioned earlier, the rain garden redistributes 15% of the rainwater that hits the building’s roof back into the ground, which saves many bodies of water from erosion. The efficient energy usage does not stop with the boiler – 463 solar panels contribute 10% of the business’s energy, and all of the lighting on the property is energy-efficient.

With regards to the social impact of these choices, Muller has trained many of his employees on how to be a sustainable member of society. In my interview, he explained the importance of a thorough training program for employees, stating “If you make it easy for people, it’s easy for them to do the right thing.” He also explained that he has many groups come into the brewery to tour the property and gain insight into sustainable practices that they can implement in their personal or professional lives. For example, on the day that I conducted my interview, he had a group of students from the engineering school at Rowan University touring the property. This allows Muller to continue to spread knowledge on sustainable practices, and raise awareness of the importance of preserving the environment from a business perspective.

Interview

Gene Muller, President