The beer that Bob McCafferty and his staff brew at the North Country Brewing Company, in Slippery Rock, is certainly worth the journey. But the craft beer isn't the only reason to give North Country a look. Since it opened in 2005, McCafferty and his wife, Jodi, have aimed to serve fresh-brewed beer and pub grub, as well as operate a business that is environmentally and community conscious.
For example, 5 percent of the sales of North Country's Station 33 Firehouse Red is donated to the local fire department. Additionally, McCafferty founded an initiative called Polishing the Rock, a community-wide clean-up day.
But helping the environment doesn't stop there. The spent grains from the brewing process, for example, are used to feed the cattle on McCafferty's farm. Those animals provide the meat for the farm-to-fork half-pound burgers. (North Country also offers local buffalo and Angus burgers.) The McCaffertys also grow a lot of their own vegetables.
Much of the restaurant's waste is turned to compost. "Only 10 percent of our waste goes to the landfill," says McCafferty. "We are trying to do things differently here. When you think about it, a microbrewery is the perfect place to be environmentally friendly. The beer is served in reusable glass mugs and you can even take it home in reusable, re-fillable containers.
"We do what we can."
141 S. Main St., Slippery Rock. 724-794-2337 or www.northcountrybrewing.com
