If you think green beer is only for St. Patrick’s Day, think again. This green is about sustainability—taking care of the environment while producing a superb product. And that’s what Block 15, Corvallis’ new and only(!) independent brew pub is all about.

Months ago, I saw signs of activity in the old Gazette Times building in Corvallis. The site had been empty for a couple of years when the bar/restaurant in that space closed down. A notice went out announcing that Block 15 was renovating the space. Wisely, Nick and Kristen Arzner put their brewing equipment on display early on—so much so, that I’ve been haunting the windows checking out their progress on their whiteboard every time I visited the Red Horse Café right around the corner. An impressive list of craft beers has been growing since January or so.

At last, Block 15 opened its doors a few weeks ago and I sat down for a five-glass (little glasses, I swear!) sampler. In the words of the immortal Homer Simpson, “Mmmmmm, beeeeer.” But the fun didn’t stop there. Turns out that Block 15 is founded on a strong ethic of environmental responsibility. I had to know more and this week, I had the pleasure of sitting down with co-owner Nick Arzner to get the full story. Here’s what a I learned.

Nick and Kristen met at Indiana University and discovered that they had a lot in common. Not only a love of good beer, but a love for entrepreneurship and the planet. When they moved to Corvallis, and saw that there was no brew pub here, the wheels started turning. It’s taken five years but these two (both still in their mid-20’s!) have realized their dream of opening their own business. They hired Steve Van Rossem as their brewmaster and got to work.

Turns out, making beer is a very water hungry process. Not only that, but there’s lots of by-products: all the grains and hops that create the yummy flavors are discarded. Creating a bunch of waste water and refuse didn’t sit well with Nick. He got to thinking about how they could reduce their water usage and be creative with what happened to the plant materials. That good thinking lead to a set of creative solutions.

To reduce their water use, Block 15 recaptures the water used to cool their brewing tanks. That recaptured water (which has just been running through pipes) is saved and used for brewing or cleaning up. By putting in a heat exchanger, they reduced their water use even more. Nick didn’t tell me this, but I noticed that the servers seem to only bring water to the tables when customers ask for it. Another way to conserve, no doubt.

What I learned about how beer is brewed, from start to finish, would be a long post in itself (and if you want to know, tell me and I’ll post it). For the environment, though, the bottom line is that Block 15 focuses on local ingredients as often as possible. When barley and hops have done their jobs, they go to local farmers to feed cattle (the barley) or compost (the hops). All the veggie scraps that the restaurant produces are part of an innovative composting test program run by Allied Waste. In short, everything that can be reduced, reused, and recycled is. The restaurant is a no Styrofoam zone, too, with all the to-go containers made of compostable paper.

But that’s not all.

Block 15 is reducing their carbon outputs to help fight global climate change, too. They buy wind energy from Pacific Power’s Blue Sky program and they purchase carbon offsets from Northwest Natural (the gas company). They use compact fluorescent bulbs wherever possible to further reduce their energy use.

Why all this work to protect the environment? Nick says it just part of who he and Kristen are. Their business ethics spring directly from their personal values and beliefs. And when you talk to Nick, you’ll see his dedication, love of learning, and joy at producing great beer. The restaurant caters to a broad demographic from college students to families to anyone who enjoys a quiet spot to relax and chat with friends over a good brew.

Nick told me that he’d put the information about their efforts toward sustainability on the website as only an afterthought. He’d never even considered that being environmentally responsible could be a strong marketing aspect. Now, however, he’s getting the picture: consumers really do care and Block 15’s commitment to sustainability is winning them even more friends than their beer might do alone.

And the name? Turns out that the spot occupied by the restaurant (300 SW Jefferson) was once the 15th block of Marysville, which was what Corvallis was called back in 1851 (check out the plat here and look for the intersection of Jefferson and 3rd).

I know one thing: Nick and Kristen are off to a great start. May they be blessed with lots of green!

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This post is the first in a series profiling socially and environmentally responsible businesses in the Willamette Valley. Know someone who might like to be included? Nominate them here.