NATURE
“Consumers typically place greater value on local provenance, heritage and ingredients, making regenerative agriculture a natural extension of the brand story”
Izzy Ashman Sustainability Manager Asahi UK
When someone has a can at home, they have time to read it, understand the story and explore the details. In a busy music venue, with a crowd three deep and everyone trying to order quickly, explaining regenerative agriculture is considerably harder.
“ That has forced us to think about how we communicate a complicated subject simply, without reducing it to a vague sustainability slogan. The beer has to taste excellent first, the central message needs to land almost instantly, and the deeper evidence must be available for people who want to explore it.
“ Purpose-led brewing cannot stop with a good ingredient or a press release. The purpose has to be built into the product, the supply chain and the way the story is communicated in the real environments where people drink beer.”
Beyond barley While global brewing sustainability has traditionally centred on malting barley, brewers like Asahi UK are expanding efforts to hops – a long-lived perennial crop facing high disease risks.
Initiatives like Asahi’ s“ FOR HOPS UK” trial include interventions like biochar and wildflower strips in alleyways to retain soil moisture, boost biodiversity and suppress pathogens naturally.“ Hops are one of the priority ingredients we’ re considering in our Asahi UK sustainability strategy, assessed on both emissions and supply chain resilience,” says Izzy.
62 October 2026