Long Root Ale might look like any other can of craft beer, but its contents could have a huge impact on what you eat and drink in the future — as well as the environment. That’s because the new brew from Hopworks Urban Brewery in Portland contains 15 percent Kernza, a perennial grain. Unlike its annual grain cousin wheat, Kernza thrives without tilling and reseeding, greatly reducing erosion.

But erosion isn’t the only concern. Tilling to weed crops also results in a significant loss of soil carbon, nutrient leakage and changes in soil structure, according to the Land Institute, the Kansas-based nonprofit that developed Kernza. While some farmers have reduced erosion by replacing tilling with chemical herbicides, they haven’t been able to address these other issues, and since most crops worldwide are annual, the effects of tilling and chemical herbicides present a significant threat to our farmlands.