Brewing Responsibly: Hillman Beer’s Environmental Stewardship in Asheville and Old Fort

Sustainable brewing in Asheville is not a marketing angle at Hillman Beer. It is baked into how the brewery was built, how it sources ingredients, and how it gives back to the land that surrounds both its locations. From their creekside taproom on Sweeten Creek Road to the converted hosiery mill in Old Fort, Hillman Beer has made environmental stewardship a quiet but consistent part of who they are. This page breaks down the specific practices behind that commitment, the community partners that make it possible, and why it matters to the people pouring your pint.

What Sustainable Brewing Actually Looks Like at Hillman Beer

Sustainable brewing is a real operational discipline, not a label. At Hillman Beer, it starts with one of the most overlooked byproducts of the craft beer process: spent grain. After mashing, brewers are left with large volumes of wet grain that has already given its sugars to the beer. Most small breweries face a disposal challenge. Hillman’s answer is to route that spent grain directly to local farms as animal feed.

This practice eliminates a significant organic waste stream. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), diverting food and organic byproducts to animal feed is ranked among the highest-priority strategies in sustainable food and agricultural waste management, sitting above composting and well above landfill disposal. Hillman’s spent grain program fits squarely into that hierarchy.

Beyond grain recycling, both the Asheville and Old Fort kitchens source ingredients from regional farmers and producers. This is not a seasonal promotion. It is how the kitchens run day to day, from the grass-fed beef in the patty melt to the rotating seasonal specials that reflect what is actually growing nearby. Local sourcing shortens supply chains, reduces transportation emissions, and keeps food dollars circulating inside Western North Carolina.

According to the USDA’s Local and Regional Food Systems data, locally sourced food systems generate significantly more economic activity per dollar within their communities than conventional supply chains. When Hillman buys from a regional farm, that investment compounds locally in ways that a bulk distributor simply cannot replicate.

Hillman Beer’s sustainable brewing practices in Asheville and Old Fort include a spent grain recycling program that diverts organic waste to regional farms, as well as daily local sourcing across both kitchen operations. These are not periodic initiatives but structural decisions embedded in how the brewery produces beer and food.

Community Partners and the Power in Pints Philosophy

Hillman Beer’s environmental work does not exist in isolation. It is one thread in a wider commitment they describe through the idea of Power in Pints: the belief that a brewery can be a genuine community institution, not just a place to drink. When you understand how their sourcing partnerships work, Power in Pints stops being a slogan and starts reading like an operating model.

The regional farmers who receive Hillman’s spent grain are not passive recipients. They are part of a reciprocal relationship. Farms that take the grain feed livestock that may, in turn, supply ingredients back into the Hillman kitchen. This kind of circular local economy is exactly what sustainable food systems researchers describe as a closed-loop model, where waste from one process becomes a resource for another.

Both brewery locations were chosen and designed with community in mind. The Asheville taproom at 25 Sweeten Creek Road offers creek-side seating that keeps guests connected to the natural environment around them. The Old Fort location, set inside a converted hosiery mill at 78 Catawba Avenue, preserved an existing structure rather than requiring new construction, which carries its own environmental logic: adaptive reuse of buildings is consistently identified by urban planners as one of the most carbon-efficient approaches to commercial development.

“Local food systems and farm-to-institution programs create measurable economic and environmental co-benefits, including reduced food miles, stronger regional employment, and improved land stewardship outcomes.”

Dr. Alfonso Morales, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Hillman also positions both taprooms as gathering spaces rather than transactional venues. Their stated values around quality, service, comfort, and community reflect a hospitality model where the environment people gather in, both physical and ecological, is treated with the same care as the beer itself.

The Power in Pints philosophy at Hillman Beer connects environmental practices like spent grain recycling and local sourcing to a broader community-first operating model. Their two locations in Asheville and Old Fort were chosen and designed to reinforce rather than contradict these values, making sustainability a structural part of the guest experience.

Measurable Community Impact: Why It Adds Up Over Time

Individual sustainability practices at a small brewery may seem modest in isolation. Cumulatively, they tell a different story. Hillman Beer has been operating in Asheville since April 2017 and in Old Fort since July 2020. Across those years, the volume of spent grain redirected to farms, the meals made with locally sourced ingredients, and the economic activity channeled to regional producers represents a real and growing impact on Western North Carolina’s agricultural and environmental health.

The craft brewing industry in the United States produces an enormous volume of spent grain annually. According to the Brewers Association, the craft beer sector has continued to expand its sustainability reporting and environmental initiatives, with spent grain reuse cited as one of the most widely adopted practices among independent breweries. Hillman’s participation in this practice aligns them with a broader industry shift toward environmental accountability.

The food program adds another layer. By operating full scratch kitchens at both locations rather than relying on food trucks or third-party vendors, Hillman controls exactly where their ingredients come from. That level of sourcing control is rare and meaningful. It means the environmental and economic benefits of local purchasing are consistent rather than variable.

Families, dog owners, craft beer newcomers, and long-time Asheville locals all share the same taproom at Hillman. The inclusive, unpretentious atmosphere is itself part of the community impact. A brewery that welcomes everyone creates a wider network of people who are connected, even indirectly, to the values of local sourcing and environmental care that shape what’s in their glass.

Hillman also earned a Gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival for their ESB (Extra Special Bitter). That recognition matters here not just as a quality credential but as evidence that brewing responsibly, using traditional methods, quality ingredients, and regional partnerships, does not require cutting corners on the product itself.

Hillman Beer’s measurable community impact in Asheville and Old Fort grows steadily through consistent practices: spent grain routed to farms, locally sourced kitchen ingredients, and full-kitchen operations that give the brewery direct control over its sourcing decisions. Award-winning beer quality confirms that environmental responsibility and craft excellence are not trade-offs at Hillman.

How to Support Sustainable Brewing in Asheville When You Visit

Choosing where to spend your time and money as a craft beer drinker is a real decision with real consequences for local economies and ecosystems. Visiting Hillman Beer in Asheville or Old Fort is one of the more direct ways to support sustainable brewing in Western North Carolina.

1. Order from the kitchen: Every food purchase directly supports the local sourcing network that Hillman has built with regional farmers. The grass-fed patty melt, house-made falafel wrap, and seasonal specials are all part of that supply chain.
2. Ask your server about the beer: Hillman’s staff can walk you through the lineup, including which ingredients are sourced regionally and what styles are currently on rotation. The Kölsch, ESB, and Hazy Half Back IPA each reflect different aspects of the brewery’s approach to traditional craft.
3. Visit Old Fort: The mountain-view taproom at 78 Catawba Avenue operates in a converted mill building and tends to attract a more relaxed crowd. It is a meaningful setting for understanding how Hillman’s environmental values intersect with place.
4. Come back regularly: Seasonal menus and rotating beer offerings change based on what is available locally. Repeat visits track the rhythm of the regional food system in real time.

Supporting sustainable brewing at Hillman Beer in Asheville or Old Fort is as straightforward as showing up, ordering from the kitchen, and engaging with the staff about what’s on tap. Every visit channels spending toward a local food and farming network that the brewery has been building since 2017.