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Locals taste “brew-tiful” new beer made from recycled water at Keel Farms

The brew named “Deja Brew” can be purchased on tap and in a growler or can, at Keel Farms.

The question of what to do with approximately 400 gallons of ultra-purified, recycled water from Plant City’s Advance Water Treatment Plant was answered by Keel Farms owner Clay Keel.

Keel toured the city’s One Water Demonstration Facility several months ago with Leadership Tampa and tasted the clean, direct potable reuse (DPR) water. He thought it was good and he could make beer with it.

The wastewater does, after all, go through an advanced multi-step treatment process which involves a membrane filtration, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet/advanced oxidation process system. The resulting product is clean, clear and nutrient-free. “At Keel Farms our principles are quality, sustainability and community and this was right up our alley on sustainability and it’s also innovative,” he said.

Keel took two, 200-gallon wine tanks, filled them with the water, took them back to his brewery, and began the process of turning water into beer. “We’ve never used anything other than our well water to make beer in the last 10 years and the water that came out of this system was like distilled water, there was nothing in it,” said Keel. “It’s unique as a brewer because we could build the water to the beer as we wanted it.”