Grand Rapids, MI
Brewery Vivant, coming fresh off from receiving their honors for Silver LEED certification, has been named to the 101 Best and Brightest list for sustainable companies. Within the same day, the company also announced that they will be expanding their brewing operations to nearly double capacity.
The Best and Brightest awards these accolades to sustainable companies that “inspire and produce green technology to impact the industry and environment. This is the premier awards symposium that celebrates those companies that are making their businesses more sustainable, the lives of their employees better, and the community, locally and globally, more responsible as a whole.” Vivant holds their place among other top Michigan companies such as Herman Miller, the JW Marriott Grand Rapids, and Cascade Engineering. “From the day we decided to open Vivant, sustainability has been one of the core values driving our decisions. Receiving this award in our first year confirms that we are on the right path towards making a positive impact on our community and our earth.”, commented Kris Spaulding, owner and sustainability director.
This recognition also comes amongst the news that the company has made public their plans to greatly expand their brewing production area. The $300,000 equipment addition, all at their current location, will enable them to nearly double brewing production to 5000 barrels a year, or 155,000 gallons of beer. Owner Jason Spaulding had this to say about the addition and the start of out-of-state distribution to Chicago later this summer, “ We set out to be a neighborhood brewery and that’s what we want to stick with. By limiting our distribution area, it helps attract more people into Michigan and Grand Rapids.”
Well, it would seem, not to be out done by themselves, the folks at Steam Whistle dropped off another package for us at Beer Geeks. Some T-shirts, openers, whistles and other swag were not out done by the cans of beer and a 1 litre glass boot!
