Circularity is key to us here at Acid. In a world of single-use, throwaway products, we want to help chart a better path forward by participating in the circular food movement, all while creating delicious, locally-produced, craft-spirits. Before we dive into the magic of our individual spirits, let’s learn a little bit about this concept known as circularity.
The status quo: If you look around you, most everything in your life is likely meant to be used then discarded, without a second use of any kind. Your computer, your shoes, yesterday’s takeout containers, all created from finite resources and, more likely than not, destined for landfill at the end of their current lives. Most products are intended for one-time use, with no consideration for reuse or recycling in their design. As a result, production of most goods requires constant raw material extraction, leading to natural resource depletion and significant waste creation.
If we look at the liquor industry specifically, the buy, use, and throw away norms of this status quo are equally present; flavoring agents, like vanilla beans or citrus, are typically purposely grown for the liquor flavoring process, and thrown away after a single use.
Circularity is an alternative system to the linear model of mass consumption. In a circular system, products and materials are designed to be reused, repaired, refurbished, or recycled, thus extending their lifecycle and keeping them in circulation rather than discarding them as waste. A great example is Patagonia’s Worn Wear Program, an initiative that repairs customers’ used Patagonia items, resells second-hand Patagonia products, and recycles worn-out items into new fabrics. Another example is Fairphone, a company that designs modular smartphones that are easy to repair and upgrade, thus extending the lifespan of cellphones and reducing toxic electronic waste.
How does Acid apply circularity concepts to the liquor industry?
At Acid, we ensure that our ingredients are getting the most possible use, whether before they enter our distilling process or after they leave, ensuring the resources used in growing the ingredients are resources well spent.
In our Versa Series, we ensure the flavoring ingredients we source are upcycled, giving second life to other ingredients that might otherwise be discarded as “waste”. For example, Coffee Acid is made with repurposed coffee grounds left over from Cafe Grumpy’s cold brew process. Smoked Orange Acid is made with leftover rinds from the juicing process from our friends over at Beepublic. Our vacuum distillation process ensures these spirits are bursting with bold, aromatic flavors.
One of the biggest issues in transporting food waste is decay prior to safe reuse. By distributing collection containers containing alcohol to our upstream partners like Beepublic, we ensure safe food handling and are able to maximize the amount of waste we accept.
At the heart of our Harvest Series ethos lies our commitment to upcycle the leftover waste from our distillation process. Our Pepper Acid, in 2022, was a collaboration with Heatonist, an online hot-sauce marketplace. The Peppers, sourced from Home Sweet Home Grown farm in Kutztown, are harvested just days before distillation, and all remaining pepper pieces were turned by Heatonist into dehydrated hot sauce powder. Our Seaweed Acid utilizes fresh sugar kelp sourced from Atlantic Sea Farms, and after distilling, leftover seaweed has been made into seaweed salt by the team at Double.nyc and is currently up-cycled in the kitchen at Ilis in Brooklyn, NY. We love seeing our ingredients take on new lives at our partners bars and restaurants.
Circularity in the food system is crucial for creating a sustainable and resilient future, as it minimizes waste and reduces environmental impact by transforming byproducts and surplus into valuable inputs. Acid is a new way to drink responsibly, and we’d love it if you joined us.