At a brewery nestled in rolling farmland in northern England, beer making begins with dropping dozens of unwanted loaf ends, thrown away by a sandwich factory, into a large stainless steel tank.
Add water, hops and yeast, and out comes the unmistakable golden beverage popular the world over.
“We’re essentially substituting part of the malt for bread,” said Alex Balchin, head of the Wold Top Brewery near Driffield in Yorkshire, of the brew that has no discernible bread-like taste.
Photo: AFP
The brewery uses some of the tonnes of discarded uneaten bread in Britain to produce beer in support of an initiative fighting food waste — and the idea is being exported around the world.
Behind the concept of Toast Ale is Tristram Stuart, who set up Feedback, an anti-food waste organization.
He began producing the beverage last year, drawing inspiration from a small Belgian microbrewery — Brussels Beer Project — that in 2015 started making a beer from leftover bread, called Babylone.
“They explained to me that the ancient Babylonians actually invented beer to preserve bread and other grains that otherwise would be wasted,” Stuart said. “That was the original purpose of the drink.”
Stuart’s research has found that “industrial quantities” of bread are being wasted globally, while the global craft beer brewing movement has continued to flourish.
The profits, after partner brewers have claimed their production expenses, are donated to Feedback, while any grains left after brewing are recycled to feed livestock.
His first Toast Ale was produced on the TV show of British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, who declared it “bloomin’ lovely.”
Now the concept comes in lager or pale ale varieties, while some partner breweries have come up with their own versions, such as Bread Pudding.
In Britain, 9.8 tonnes of bread have already been used to produce more than 300,000 beers, sold for between £2.5 and £3 (US$3.34 and US$4) each, a similar price to other craft beers.
About 44 percent of the bread produced in Britain ends up in the garbage, making it the most wasted food item.
“It is deeply depressing if you look at what is going on globally, but the solution of this problem turns [out] to be delicious,” Stuart said.
His business has grown fast, with Toast Ale being brewed in New York, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Cape Town.
His recipe for turning bread into beer has also been posted online so anyone can learn how to brew it and make their own contribution to reducing food waste.
“That’s now been downloaded 16,000 times, it really is being used by a lot of people,” Stuart said.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of