Big Brother star George Lamb and a south London brewery have launched what claims to be the world’s first offset-free carbon negative beer.
TV host Lamb, 43, says drinkers can now enjoy a pint “guilt-free” while also helping the environment.
He is co-founder of Wildfarmed, a regenerative farming business, which provided barley to create Gipsy Hill Brewery’s new Swell Lager and Trail Pale.
Lamb, from Dalston, east London, told the Standard: “Wildfarmed was born out of a desire to fix our broken food system, ensuring it works for both people and the planet.
“We have developed our regenerative farming standards to ensure farming and food is part of the solution rather than the problem.
“Our partners Gipsy Hill Brewery also recognise the need to change the way we’re doing things.
“We couldn’t be prouder that our regenerative barley has been chosen to help create this offset-free carbon negative beer.
“The proof is in the pint, and we hope that other businesses will see this and make the change to adopt genuine regenerative practices within their supply chain, rather than offsetting.”
Gipsy Hill’s beers are brewed using barley grown through regenerative farming and hops, which have been recaptured and reused.
It means each pint removes more greenhouse gases from the atmosphere than it produces.
Lamb says it is the first time that a brewery has produced a carbon-negative beer without using carbon offsetting, a controversial process where businesses reduce the carbon footprint of products through activities unrelated to their production – for example planting trees in another part of the world.
Gipsy Hill’s latest beers have carbon footprints of -40g CO2e for Swell Lager and -30g CO2e for Trail Pale per pint respectively – around ten times less than typical pint of commercial lager or craft IPA.
Sam McMeeken, co-founder of Gipsy Hill Brewery, said: “Making great quality beer has been our obsession for 10 years, but I felt we had to find a way to do it more sustainably.
“Great beer should be guilt-free.”
Edd Lees, co-founder at Wildfarmed, added: “We’re thrilled to be working with Gipsy Hill to create a beer that not only tastes great, but is great for the planet too.”
