PORTLAND — Allagash Brewing Co. is the largest craft brewery in the state, producing 100,000 barrels of beer, or 3.1 million gallons, a year — enough to fill four or five Olympic-size swimming pools.

To produce all that beer, Allagash uses a lot of materials: grain, hops, water, cans, bottles, kegs, pallets, cleaning products and more.

As part of the company’s commitment to being a certified B Corporation company, Allagash keeps 98% of that waste out of the landfill, founder Rob Tod said.

It’s a big part of the company’s effort to lower its environmental impact.

Tod took Allagash through the rigorous certification process in 2019. There are only 23 certified B Corporation businesses in Maine. Allagash is the only brewer in the state, and one of only 14 brewers in the country, to make the grade.

To become certified, a business must meet verified social, environmental and governance standards, recertifying every three years. Companies must achieve a minimum impact assessment score of 80. Allagash’s score in 2019 was 83.8 and jumped to 104 during its recertification in 2023, placing Allagash in a high-impact grouping.

Allagash Brewing’s seventh annual B Corporation report details how the company scored so high and what it means for the company, its employees, customers and the community.

“We hope that this more effectively shares insight into how we work to continuously improve our operation,” Tod is quoted as saying when the report was released on April 20. “It’s a way to share our experience and wins with other businesses working toward the same community and sustainability-oriented goals.”

Reducing a company’s impact is one of the keys to sustainability. While some changes may seem minor, the collective impact is significant.

Brewing with more than 2 million pounds of Maine-grown grain in 2025, Allagash has doubled its use of local grains since 2021.

By working closely with Maine Malt House, Aurora Mills & Farm, and Blue Ox Malt House, the company said it’s able to source more local grains and reduce the impact of transporting the grains from out of state, in addition to helping local farmers and injecting more money into Maine’s economy.

Using redesigned cardboard tray shipments to eliminate the need for plastic stretch wrap also cut the number of delivery trucks needed in half.

By changing the nozzles and positioning for how Allagash rinses the outside of cans after filling saves 1.5 gallons a minute while the canning line is running and is part of the equation keeping use to 3.4 gallons of water per gallon of beer.

A new can crusher enables efficient recycling of roughly 150,000 aluminum cans annually.

Partnerships with local farmers repurpose brewing by-products, diverting 5.8 million pounds of spent grain and 1.5 million pounds of yeast each year as animal feed and fertilizer.

The transition to lightly used “Grade A” pallets saves about 10,000 new pallets per year.

Allagash’s old warehouse was off Riverside Drive about a mile or so from the new one at the Allagash campus on Industrial Way. The relocation eliminated 20,000 shipping miles annually, putting fewer trucks on the road and cutting fuel use and carbon pollution.

Allagash rents its kegs from MicroStar company, which operates in all 50 states. Instead of paying to ship empty kegs back to Maine, they simply are replaced locally.

If Allagash owned its kegs, it would have had to ship 18 truckloads of empty kegs from California alone last year, saving about 55,000 miles from just one state.

The Allagash Recycling Co-Op, now in its sixth year, collaborates with local grocers and craft breweries to recycle difficult materials, collectively diverting more than 180 tons of waste from landfill since launch.

Allagash Brewing Co. has been named one of the “Best Places to Work in Maine” 12 times since 2013. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted their streak in 2020.

The company — which has about 130 employees — accomplished this through longstanding traditions, innovation programs, and tenure-based benefits, including paid sabbaticals and annual staff trips to Belgium, to support employee growth and retention.

There’s an annual chili cook-off, a maple brunch during sugaring season, Sea Dogs games and a list of events for employees.

“Reusing and using less help the environment and our bottom line.”

Rob Tod, founder of Allagash Brewing

After working at the company for five years, employees receive a paid trip to Belgium with Tod and brewmaster Jason Perkins. It allows employees to learn about Belgian culture and brewing traditions, which are the backbone of Allagash’s beer lineup.

Allagash also supports its community in a host of ways by donating, volunteering and collaborating, which are all part of the B Corporation assessment process.

At the end of the day, Allagash Brewing is a business, and the company leaders have found ways to make a better product, keep their employees happy and productive, and do less harm.

“Reusing and using less help the environment and our bottom line,” Tod said.