Our beer tells a good story about Arizona's water future, but would anyone drink it?

When people think about saving water in the desert, they often think about sacrifice.

Using water wisely might be good for us, but it’s not fun.

Right?

Wrong.

We effectively debunked this theory Nov. 8 when we served Hydrolager, the water-friendly beer azcentral brewed with Wren House Brewing in Phoenix, to the crowd at Scottsdale’s annual Canal Convergence festival. Most of the folks who wandered by our booth weren’t beer connoisseurs. Or water experts.

Mostly, they were art fans, Friday-night revelers and tourists who had stumbled on a beer garden and thought, “Oh, great, beer! Let’s order one.”

There were few upturned noses

The scene is what you’d expect: People were happily sipping and talking and generally having a good time. Few paid much mind to the signs that explained the beers on tap that evening (including ours) at the One Water Brewing Showcase were made with recycled water from the city of Scottsdale.

They saw beer, and life was good.

In that case, mission accomplished.

We successfully proved that you can sell the idea of recycled water when it’s made into something as everyman as beer. There were few upturned noses.

And, as we had hoped, Hydrolager was tasty enough to prompt questions from curious customers who wanted to know more about what went into our beer.

I explained how we carefully sourced ingredients to tell a story about Arizona’s water future – about how we will have to rethink how we use water as supplies become scarcer not only in our state, but across the West.

I didn’t belabor the point – hey, these people came for beer, not a lecture – but not surprisingly, once bated with a little knowledge, many folks wanted to know more. We talked about the future of farming, which uses the majority of Arizona’s water, and how cities can conserve (all things we hoped to convey with the barley, wheat, hops and water that magically combined to make Hydrolager).

Want more beer? Here's your chance

I also realized just how few people know that most metro Phoenix cities already treat and reuse wastewater – which includes water from toilets, but also what flows through sinks and dishwashers and washing machines.

Wastewater treatment plants move this water through various settling tanks. The heavy stuff settles to the bottom, while microscopic critters eat some of the bacteria. The water is then treated with chlorine and other things – and at this point is used in most cities for irrigation or to store underground (it is further filtered as it moves through layers of sediment).

Scottsdale takes it a step futher, running that water through ozone, UV light and other microfilters that make it cleaner than the tap water we drink.

The city has been doing this for 20 years. But until last year, Arizona did not allow anyone to use this water for drinking. The state changed the rules, and now Scottsdale is using the water in demonstration projects like the One Water Brewing Showcase to remove the stigma from a water source we’ll probably all need to consider at some point.

It was awesome to have these conversations with people – and we’re not done.

We’re hosting a Hydrolager night from 6:30-8 p.m. Nov. 14 at Wren House, 2125 N. 24th St. in Phoenix. You can learn more about how and why we embarked on this project, but mostly, it’s about the beer. 

The event is free, though you'll need a ticket to attend. Beer is available for purchase, and we'll have nifty Hydrolager T-shirts for new subscribers. 

Come enjoy a crisp, refreshing pint of this amazing dry-hopped lager with us.

Reach Allhands at joanna.allhands@arizonarepublic.com. On Twitter: @joannaallhands.

If you love this content (or love to hate it – hey, no judging), why not subscribe to get more?