CHOUFFING responsibly

We brew our beers in the heart of the Belgian Ardenne region, famous for its natural beauty. We want to preserve this landscape in a sustainable way, and play our part in caring for the planet and the people who live on it.
Drinking CHOUFFE definitely lifts your spirits! But did you know that by doing so you are also helping us support projects working towards greater social and environmental responsibility? A big CHOUFFY thank you! For us. For you. For our gnomes.

We’re CHOUFFED with green energy!

Since time immemorial, our gnomes have used wood fires in their cottages for heat, light and cooking. Our brewery requires different sources of energy. For each of our energy choices, we make sure to select sustainable solutions, which respect the environment and humanity. Because, as any good gnome knows, every little helps!
That’s why…

In 2023, we installed 1,344 solar panels on the new building of Société Ardennaise d’Embouteillage, with an estimated annual production of 700,000 kWh.
Since 2014 at the bottling site and since 2017 at the brewery, we have replaced heating oil with propane.
All our electricity is 100% green and renewable.

 ‌‌ 

Since 2012, the Chouffe Brewery has reduced its CO2 emissions by 40% per hectolitre of beer produced.

 ‌‌ 

The gnomes are buzzzzing

Living close to nature and every creature living in it, the Achouffe gnomes love and respect bees. These little creatures have an essential role to play in pollination, the reproduction of plants, and providing us with food. Without them, there would be no hops or cherries. Unthinkable!
Knowing that the bees are being threatened by pollution and the disappearance of their habitats, Marcel and his friends have decided to do their bit in protecting them by setting up four hives near the pond in Fairy Valley. And in exchange, the greedy little gnomes can harvest the surplus honey.

Did you know?

The hives at the Achouffe brewery are home to European dark bees (apis mellifera mellifera). This is an indigenous, hardy species that is perfectly adapted to the harsh climate of our region.
Fancy trying our CHOUFFE-bee honey? The honey we harvest is on sale in the CHOUFFE Shop!
Here are a few simple ways you help the bees: dig flowerbeds in your garden or put pots on your terrace, grow nectariferous plants and flowers to feed them, put out plates with corks and water in them to hydrate them, and use organic maintenance products for your garden.
A queen bee lays a thousand to two thousand eggs a day, and a hive can house up to 30,000 bees in winter, and 70,000 in summer.

Planting trees

Forests are sacred for the CHOUFFE gnomes. It’s where they drink their favourite beer or have a snooze in a shady copse. Forests are also essential for the planet. Trees capture the CO2 in the atmosphere and play an active role in the natural balance of the Earth. The preservation of the “Vallée des Fées” (the Valley of the Fairies), its own majestic forests and those surrounding it, is one of the Chouffe Brewery’s top priorities.
With ASBL Bos+, we therefore decided to replant 10,000 trees. It’s simple, but triply CHOUFFE: we fight against climate change by supporting local jobs and by strengthening biodiversity.

That’s why…

The Chouffe Brewery has helped in the reforestation of 20 hectares. That’s 20 000 gnome gardens.
The first CHOUFFE plot is located in the Bois de Seny, near Nandrin, in Belgium.
Our CHOUFFE-FANS help us and we already replanted 500 trees together !

No water, no CHOUFFE!

It would be sad if there was no CHOUFFE, but it would be catastrophic if there was no water! Water is essential for producing our brews. Cleaning the brewery, the bottles and kegs which contain our beers requires significant amounts of water. At the global level, water is a rare resource which must be used in a sustainable way if we don’t want our natural reserves to disappear.

That’s why…

We limit our water consumption during the brewing process.
We have made cleaning processes of pipes, water tanks, filters, kegs and bottles more efficient.
We purify and clean waste water thanks to our on-site water treatment plant.

 ‌‌ 

– Since 2014, the Chouffe Brewery has reduced its water consumption by 22% per hectolitre of beer produced.
– Each week, the Chouffe Brewery uses on average 1 200m3 of water. That’s 1 200 000 gnome baths!

 ‌‌ 

I CHOUFFE, I CHOUFFED, I will RECHOUFFE and I will RECHOUFFE again

The production of our brews inevitably generates waste. In the context of a circular economy, this waste, once sorted, recycled or recovered, can re-enter the production cycle as a useful component. We’re pretty CHOUFFED with it!

That’s why…

Damaged, broken or bottles which don’t conform to quality standards are recycled;
We recover the plastic and cardboard used for packaging and resell broken pallets to a specialist company in order to reduce their environmental impact;
We use light and compact kegs, which reduces transport-related CO2 emissions;
We recover the residue of the raw materials used in the brewing process, such as distillers grains, yeast and trub, which are used in cattle feed.

 ‌‌ 

In 2018, the Chouffe Brewery provided 5 000 tons of distillers grains, yeast and trub to farmers. Healthy supplements for livestock diets, they are added to the daily feed, about 3 to 5 kilos a day per dairy cow.

 ‌‌ 

Go green with CHOUFFE in a can

We now also sell CHOUFFE in cans. You can now enjoy CHOUFFE anytime, anywhere, in the company of the gnomes and your friends. Cans also provides several advantages when it comes to the environment:
they can be wholly recycled, over and over again, without ever altering the quality of the aluminium;
unbreakable, compact and light, they are easier to transport and stock than bottles made of plastic or glass; they also take up less room, which significantly reduces their transport-related CO2 emissions.

 ‌‌ 

– CHOUFFE cans are made with 100% recyclable aluminium.
– A CHOUFFE can weighs 10 grammes, which is 190 grammes less than a bottle of the same capacity.

 ‌‌