Yikes…a friend is challenging you to reduce the number of beer cans and beer bottles you use in 2013 by 50%.  If this sounds too difficult…read on, it should actually be enjoyable!

1).  DRAFT BEER AT BARS & RESTAURANTS:  Simply make it a habit to ask your server what local beers they have on tap.  No beer bottles are wasted on draft beer and you can be confident the beer you are about to enjoy is fresh from the brewery… just up the road.

2).  REFILL AT YOUR LOCAL MICRO-BREWERY:  Leave the grocery store beer shelves behind and join the growing Tampa Bay Growler Movement!  You will enjoy fresher beer while saving the planet from unnecessary waste.  With more than a dozen world-class micro-breweries in the area, you won’t have to travel too far out of your way to keep your reusable growler filled up.

There are a dozen Tampa Bay Area Micro-Brewers with more popping up each year!

BEER DRINKERS UNITE…YES WE CAN…SAVE THE PLANET FROM UNNECESSARY WASTE:  If you’re drinking the Florida average (33.8 gallons annually), your new habit would save 360 empty 12 ounce bottles annually weighing in at almost 158 pounds of glass…your recycling bin could get pretty lonely!

Someone suggested getting a “growler rack” for your bicycle and peddling to your local refill stop…I think that is simply asking too much (our climate is only awesome for bike riding about 90% of the time) and peddling would make you thirsty…hey, wait a minute…maybe that is a good idea!

Did You Know? GROWLER – The term likely dates back to the late 19th century when fresh beer was carried from the local pub to one’s home by means of a small galvanized pail. It is claimed the sound that the CO2 made when it escaped from the lid as                                                                                                         the beer sloshed around sounded like a “growl”.