There's sunshine in every glass of the beer brewed at Atlas Brew Works in Ivy City. That's because it's the sun that powers every bit of the equipment used in the brewery. Luckily, Washington, D.C. is full of sunbeams this time of year. And the best part is, Atlas’ rooftop collects so much solar power that they don’t need all of it.
Atlas partnered with D.C.-based Solar Solution in August last year to completely offset the building’s traditionally sourced electricity use. Now, Atlas CEO and founder Justin Cox can proudly claim to run the District’s first and only solar-powered craft brewery.
“[We’re] heating things up and cooling things down all day long so we wanted to do something to offset our environmental impact,” Cox said.
In addition to using a sustainable energy source for all operations, the brewery solely packages their beer in cans since they’re lighter to ship and 100 percent recyclable. Keeping the environment in mind, the brewery gives back to its community residents, too, not just the planet.
“During the peak hours of solar production, [we’re] producing more electricity than we’re using at the time,” Cox said. “So it gets pumped out in the electric grid.”
This is where Solar Solution comes into play. The extra electricity generated by Atlas’ rooftop goes to the surrounding buildings to supplement their electricity. Atlas still owns the system but is happy to share the benefits with its neighbors.
“[Solar power] has been increasing with the amount of daylight,” Cox said. “Three-hundred kilowatts per day is what it's putting out.”
You can check out the brewery’s solar power usage online, where it presents a graph of how much throughout the day it uses. Use ranges from 10 to 50 KW, peaking during midday production. Depending on daily sun exposure, there's a lot of clean energy going back into the community.
Cox says his electric bill went down 50 percent after they switched to solar. With the financial benefit and environmental benefits of solar panels, the number of interested customers and fans of the brewery has grown.
“We make it a big part of our identity and people come in and ask about solar panels,” Cox said.
Atlas also gives farmers their used grain, like some other craft breweries in D.C.
“When we’re done extracting sugars we use from the grain, what’s normally just a waste product (spent grain), we give it to local farmers for animal feed,” Cox said.
The brewery also supports local causes with a recurring event featuring guest bartenders who come to the tasting room bar. On the last Sunday of the month, they have a different nonprofit come and guest bartend. A portion of the sales of the day goes to the organization.
“We make a beer, [an] early summer seasonal Homerule—named after the act that lets D.C. have a mayor and representation,” Cox said. “It’s still a fight, though. Homerule is an homage to that struggle and we partnered with D.C. Vote to aid their efforts.”
Atlas has hosted people like Congresswoman Eleanor Norton and Councilmember David Grosso.
“Some people were surprised to be served a beer by a congresswoman,” Cox said.
Other than their tasting room, you can find Atlas in select bars around the city and in one particularly large venue. For two seasons now, Atlas has been supplying Nationals Park exclusively with their 1500 South Cap Lager, named after the address of the park.
Heading to @Nationals game? Home Rule IPL in Sec. 110 & 309. 1500 at Baseline Brews Bars and Norfolk Southern Club. pic.twitter.com/1PjYBjBpCv
— Atlas Brew Works (@AtlasBrewWorks) April 22, 2016
“It’s been a huge deal, their ballpark is a pretty great account,” Cox said.
Supporting local products at Nationals Park is important to Cox and his team. And an Atlas beer associated with the Nationals isn't be a bad thing for business and publicity.
"[The 1500 South Cap Lager] pairs really nicely with the sunshine out on our patio," Cox said.
For Atlas, its next endeavor is finishing a taproom. Cox said they are building a big space to experiment with smaller batch beers and create new recipes. Atlas uses a 20-barrel system, which yields a lot of beer. They are investing in a 3 1/2 barrel system to make small batches for customers to try. If the small batches are successful, they will use the new recipe in the 20-barrel system. The hope is that the taproom will be open by Memorial Day and operate six or seven days a week, Cox said.
Craft beer produced by the power of the sun, what else could you need?
The tasting room is open Fridays 5-8 pm and Saturdays and Sundays 1-8 pm.
