The green movement is going strong nationwide, and one local brewery is making sure it's not behind in the movement.

We visited the Leinenkugel Brewing Company in Chippewa Falls and have more on it’s expansion, sustainability projects, and hopes for the future.

Before these bottles are packed into cases and shipped to stores across the country, they must first be pasteurized. President of the company Jake Leinenkugel says, “Pasteurization is certainly one of the major processes our brewing procedures and it's very necessary.”

Which is why this construction is going on, to house a new pasteurizer that will save more than 20 million gallons of water a year for the Leinenkugel Brewery. Leinenkugel says, “We've always thought we needed to give back to the community, but when you look at the lakes, rivers and streams here in the Chippewa Valley, there's a huge need for us to preserve and restore those.”

Leinenkugel says he's currently in talks with local farmers about starting to grow barley in the area, something that could help the local economy. He says, “That would be the first step in local in a big way because barley is such a huge ingredient in beer, it's the soul of beer.”

And City Planner Jayson Smith says that's good news for the county, “One of the largest industries in Chippewa County is agriculture, that industry is very, very important to the economy of Chippewa County and very important to the city of Chippewa Falls.”

And not to mention, Leinenkugel says the pasteurizer means a greater capacity for production; in the future he says he hopes to expand the number of barrels put out each year, which also means, more jobs.

He says, “We want to see growth as far as production capabilities on site here in Chippewa Falls, we want to see increased employment opportunities become available over the next decade.”

The Leinenkugel Brewery Plant Manager says the construction for the new pasteurizer should wrap up by mid-December, with the new pasteurizer beginning production early next year.