Alberta's Sustainable Distiller

At Lone Pine Distilling, we take action throughout the distillation process to minimize our environmental impact and increase our overall sustainability. From conservation to recycling, we’ve implemented a variety of initiatives to operate in the most environmentally friendly way and continue to look for opportunities to be ‘greener’.

Responsible Water Use

Water isn’t just for making our spirits – it’s also necessary for heating, cooling and cleaning. We reuse our water as many times as possible to minimize consumption and waste. For example, water that’s been warmed up during the cooling process is re-used as pre-heated water for the next batch of spirits. The excess water from those processes is then used again for cleaning.

We’ve achieved a water reuse ratio of approximately 2 (two uses per unit of water) with the objective to increase that further prior to returning it to the treatment system.

Optimize Energy Efficiency

Closed-loop cooling for our mash tuns and fermenters uses geothermal insulation and heat exchange to optimize heating and cooling during distillation and minimize utility consumption. High efficiency insulation throughout the building and distilling system, including our boiler, lines and roofing, helps to reduce consumption even further.

As a result – our entire facility uses about as much natural gas as only 2 residential homes.

Minimize All Waste

In addition to keeping utility use low, we try to keep all forms of waste to an absolute minimum. By re-using and recycling all possible materials, our standard size garbage bin averages less than 1/4 full each month come pick-up time.

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

We recycle more than just paper, plastic and glass… we even recycle our grain. Raw grain used for distillation gets converted into “mash” and stripped of its sugars during the process. After this, we have no further use for it.

The spent grain left behind is still rich in fibre and protein – making it perfect for livestock feed.

We provide the protein-rich leftovers to local farmers as supplemental feed for their herds, which in turn, help fertilize the fields for the next season. A natural circular economy.

 

Considering Every Opportunity to Stay Green

We take specific steps at the distillery level to conserve our resources. As an independent distillery, we also support other local business to minimize the aggregate effects of a carbon intensive industry.

By working with local suppliers and using locally grown ingredients, we can keep our ecological footprint small while building connections within our community, and encourage sustainable thinking among our partners.