Mad Mole Brewing receives grant to help reduce runoff impacts to Bradley Creek

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Mad Mole Brewing in Wilmington is on a mission to reduce waste and brew as sustainably as possible.

The brewery opened its doors in 2018. Before it opened, solar panels were installed so the beer could be “brewed by the sun.”

“From the beginning, they wanted to have that environmental push and look at trying to brew beer in a more sustainable way,” Mad Mole Operations Manager Dano Ferons said.

Ferons joined the Mad Mole team in 2019. With a passion for sustainability, Ferons says the small shop aims to make a big difference.

“I enjoy making beer. It’s my favorite job I’ve ever had. I really enjoy it and I’ve also just had a love for the environment,” Ferons said. “The more I can limit the waste that goes on, if it’s at the brewery level, the home level, it just makes me feel good.”

In 2020, Mad Mole began looking for ways to expand its sustainability efforts beyond the use of solar panels. They started with the redirection of trub, which is the spent yeast and hops from the fermenters. Instead of sending it down the drain, they partnered with Wilmington Compost Company to send off the trub for compost. This helped reduce the amount of water the brewery uses and gives the trub a second purpose.

The sustainability efforts took off when the brewery opened its doors to environmental science students at UNCW for internship opportunities last year.

During the summer of 2022, Carmen Keene helped create a partnership to recycle plastic malt bags, which has since extended to all regional breweries. In the fall of the same year, Helia
Schoenfeld focused on expanding the compost efforts and sourced salvaged wood to decorate the taproom.

Maddy Maranda worked as an intern in the spring of this year. She helped expand the Pak-Tek recycling program, which allows the brewery to collect the plastic material used to hold together a four-pack of beers to sanitize and reuse them or recycle broken ones through UNCW.

Additionally, Maranda developed a relationship with the North Carolina Coastal Federation to help Mad Mole reduce its runoff into Bradley Creek. Through the relationship, Maranda helped apply for and secure a grant from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. The grant will be used to install permeable pavers in Mad Mole’s parking lot to allow stormwater to flow into the ground to reduce stormwater runoff into Bradley Creek.

After being raised with a heart for the environment, Maranda says she’s excited to be making a difference and fostering relationships to help create a greener future.

“Being able to have an effect on it through the brewery was super fulfilling,” Maranda said. “I was able to partner with local organizations, not only to get my name out there but also have a positive effect on Mad Mole [and] Bradley Creek.”

Mad Mole anticipates the permeable pavers will be installed sometime this winter.