La Crosse Distilling uses geothermal and reduces waste to help achieve the City’s Climate Action Plan goals.

La Crosse Distilling combines its passion for distilling with a dedication to sustainability. They opened in 2017, promising to use organic ingredients, employ sustainable practices, and focus on authentic quality. @lacrossedistillingco partners with family farmers who share the same values, sourcing heirloom ingredients that produce deep and rich flavor profiles in every bottle. The same philosophy is used in their on-site restaurant, providing menu items that are organic and locally sourced.

Reducing Building Energy Consumption

They take advantage of Geothermal energy generated in the region, becoming one of the first to utilize geothermal energy in the distilling process and environmental control throughout the building. They tap into the energy source by drilling down 50-60 feet to hit the Mississippi Valley water table. This is an impressive contribution to the City’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) goal to reduce community-wide building energy consumption by 15% by 2030.

Reducing Solid Waste with Other Sustainable Practices

Geothermal is just the start of sustainable production practices for La Crosse Distilling. They follow several other sustainable practices that have a direct impact on reducing solid waste in La Crosse.

One of the waste management goals is to increase the use of reusable materials by 15% by 2030. La Crosse Distilling does this by using little to no plastic in the building and having straws and packaging that are compostable.

Another goal is to divert 50% of organic waste, including food, from the landfill by 2030. All food waste from the distillery production is composted.

A “Full Loop” of Sustainability

A great example of how La Crosse Distilling is reducing waste is their own “full loop” of sustainability.

• Instead of just throwing it away, 6000 gallons of compostable waste from distilling, called stillage, is provided to farmers for feed & fertilizer each week.

• The spent grain is returned to farmers in the Driftless area to be used as feed for their livestock and chickens.

• These farms, in turn, become the sources of meat, chicken, and eggs on the menu at the distillery’s restaurant.

This amounts to some very impressive numbers in terms of reducing waste:

• Food waste = 500 lbs a week.

• Mash/Stillage = 10,000 lbs a week of grain.

• Water from mash = 18,000 lbs a week

La Crosse Distilling even up-cycles the barrels they use for their barrel-aged gin. “Many bourbon producers only use the barrels once to age the bourbon, and then they’re done,” said Angela Weber, La Crosse Distilling Co.’s marketing director. “This is the third time these barrels were used. They were first used to age bourbon, and then they were upcycled and used to age our apple brandy.” In addition to supporting sustainability by preventing waste, the barrels also enhance the gin’s flavor.

Local Sourcing

Emissions directly linked to the distillery are minimized because they use local sources for ingredients and other products. As the City’s CAP explains:

• Transporting and refrigerating food across long distances burns GHG-emitting fossil fuels. The less transportation and refrigeration needed to supply our food, the more sustainable it becomes.

• Buying food from local sources reduces our GHG emissions while also supporting the small business local economy. Studies have indicated that nearly 32 jobs are created for every $1 million in revenue generated by produce from farms involved in a local food market. This is compared to only 10.5 jobs for those involved in wholesale channels exclusively.

@mchughfarms became an important source of organic grains for La Crosse Distilling from the beginning. The team at La Crosse Distilling immediately felt they found someone who shared their passion for the ethical treatment of land. McHugh Farms provides organic heirloom ingredients, grown organically, using no-till methods. The farm has dedicated 60 acres of rye and corn exclusively for the distillery each year.

If you’d like to check out La Crosse Distilling and see their sustainable practices in use, they’re located at 129 Vine St La Crosse, WI 54601. Their restaurant and taproom open at 11:00 am every day except Tuesday when they’re closed.