Lauren Baker, the brewery´s general manager works with the vegetables as North Country Brewing Company uses a Aquaponics system with tilapia to grow herbs and vegetables at the Warehouse on Monday August 6, 2018.

Behind the stacks of kegs and cans at the North Country Brewing Company's canning warehouse, there's an entirely different process taking place.

The company is using aquaponics to grow a small amount of crops, but the brewers take as much pride in the system as they do their craft drinks, according to North Country owner Bob McCafferty.

The company partnered with Slippery Rock University to participate in the Growing Together Aquaponics program.

McCafferty said the partnership started when SRU professor Dr. Robert Arnhold asked him to use some of the canning facility's warehouse space for the program.

“I don't think he even got the question out, and I was like, 'Yes,'” McCafferty said.

The program supports local business by growing crops through a unique method while providing work experience for those who are intellectually and developmentally challenged, said Lauren Baker, the brewery's general manager.

Marena Toth, a brewery employee and the program's coordinator, said the students help with feeding the fish in the tanks, which is where the whole aquaponics process begins.

McCafferty said he sees the project becoming part of the company's identity and another building block for being a part of the community moving forward.

Learn more about how the aquaponics program works in the Butler Eagle.