Turning leftover bread into beer
beer brewing movement has continued to flourish. “I wanted to set up a company that matches up local sources of wasted bread, local brewers, local non-profits, and build Toast Ale into a global company that turns bread that is perfectly good into beer that is even better,” Stuart says. 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 Toast Ale concept comes in lager or pale ale varieties, while some partner breweries have come up with their own versions too, such as the Bread Pudding created by the Bristol-based Wiper and True.
In Britain, 9.8 tonnes of bread have already been used to produce more than 300,000 beers, sold for between £2.50 and £3 each (RM13.60 to RM16.30), a similar price to other craft beers.
Toast Ale is currently being brewed in New York, Rio de Janeiro and Cape Town.
And Stuart’s recipe has been posted on the internet 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 enthuses.
He now wants to develop a licence for any brewer in the world to commercially produce the ale, in association with local unsold bread suppliers.
He adds on hind sight: “The day the bread is no longer thrown in the trash, Toast Ale will have no more reason to be.” – AFPRelaxnews