What makes a business Green? Easily visible from the Monon Trail is a new high-tech element in the roofscape of the Brewpub. Nestled among traditional architectural shapes, six hard edged panels gleam in the sunlight and herald the arrival of something new - the first solar panels in Broad Ripple.

It is no surprise that the Brewpub is the first business taking this groundbreaking step. John & Nancy Hill have quietly pursued a thoughtful, temperate, and innovative approach to doing business, ways now considered Green, since they opened their first Broad Ripple venture; the Corner Wine Bar back in 1982 - the first sidewalk café in Broad Ripple. How Green is the Brewpub? Let us count the ways.

Adaptive Reuse, a major tenet of the Smart Growth concept, proposes that it is more efficient and environmentally responsible to redevelop older buildings into new uses than it is to build new construction in the suburbs. Further, reuse of an existing structure is considerably more economical in terms of material use, utilization of existing infrastructure, and reduced contribution to the landfill. The Brewpub building is a skillful revitalization and reuse of an obsolete auto parts store.

The Brewpub opened on November 14, 1990. It was the first brew pub in the Metropolitan Indianapolis area and remained the only brew pub till 1995. It not only provides food and beverage service, but it is a production facility as well - producing 7 barrels = 14 kegs = 217 gallons of custom brewed beer four times a week. This not only serves to reduce the energy used in product distribution but it also grows the "local economy" by eliminating middlemen and circulating a greater percentage of its revenues in our local community.

Over the years, the Hills have made many improvements in their operation aimed at reducing energy consumption because they ascribe to the value of the "triple bottom line" also known as "people, planet, profit." Reducing energy consumption, smartly, not only lowers Brewpub's carbon footprint, it also improves its profit margin. Water conservation, heat exchangers, timer on kettle, European style flash heater, time control switching of equipment. . . all serve to consume fewer resources and save money.

Last year, the Brewpub sent 60,000 lbs of spent grain, a byproduct of the brewing process, to local farmers. The grain was largely used as cattle feed. John cautioned though that while cattle do well on the grain, feeding it to horses makes them wacky. The grain is only one element of the Hills' effort to incorporate recycling in as many processes of their operation as possible.

John worked with Chris Striebeck of Integrated Design Systems (IDS) to design and install the latest energy improvement in the brewing process. These are not your run-of-the-mill solar panels. They employ evacuated tube technology - the most efficient thermal collector on the market. The six panels assist in heating the 500 to 1,000 gallons of water used in brewing and in the kitchen each day realizing a 30 to 40% reduction of natural gas consumption. Along with the energy cost savings, the Brewpub will be able to deduct 30% of the cost of the system directly from its 2009 tax bill with Federal tax credits.

All these elements combine to make the Brewpub quite Green indeed. Yet perhaps the Greenest element has to do with the soul of the place. John bemoans that in England, the pub tradition is quickly disappearing with 39 pubs closing each week. John and Nancy have built and keep alive the best of the pub tradition - a welcoming place to all yet especially inviting to the locals. Accessible and friendly to pedestrian traffic, many patrons are neighbors arriving on foot. Bicycles are not relegated to a lonely rack in back. Their large numbers are part of the lively neighborly mix conversing while waiting for a table at the front door of the building. Unaffected by notions of cultural tourism and destination community touted by some, the Brewpub is a place intended for the locals. Broad Ripple for Broad Ripple - how utterly Green.