Surplus superstore bread used to make local beer
Collaboration between Moonface and Complete Wasters
IT’S the ideal time for enjoying a beer in the sunshine - and now there’s a new locally-made beer you can try.
This new beer is a little bit different from most on the market, in that it’s made using surplus bread rescued from supermarkets.
‘Hlaf’ is a collaboration between Loughborough brewery Moonface and community project Complete Wasters at Sileby.
The beer’s name is very apt, as it is an old English name for ‘loaf’.
Darren Potter, who runs Complete Wasters together with Deborah Parker, was aware of the huge amount of bread going to waste, and wanted to see if there was something that could be done with it.
“Around one million loaves of bread are wasted in the UK each day,” said Darren.
“I was aware of this fact from a TV programme on waste that I watched last year. I saw a food waste charity collecting and distributing what bread and food they could to the vulnerable and needy but still there was loads of bread left going in a skip for animal feed.”
The idea to try and make beer using bread came about after Darren read about Toast Ale in London, who do it on a large scale. This made Darren wonder if it was something he could do on a smaller scale here in Leicestershire.
After making some enquiries amongst his ale-drinking friends, Darren met with Pete Davidson from Moonface Brewery and Tap in Loughborough.
Pete was keen to give it a try and had a micro-brewery already up and running.
“Then, 40 loaves of bread past its best and heading for use as animal feed was intercepted for our trial beer-making project,” said Darren.
“This was delivered to Moonface and Pete set to work on the brewing process. It didn’t matter to him if the bread was stale or past its best, just as long as it wasn’t mouldy.”
After a couple of weeks, Hlaf was ready.
Made using English-grown hops and with 25 per cent of the yeast substituted for bread, it is described as a refreshing 4% craft ale.
But does it taste of bread? “Pete says it has a slight bread overtone, but I coudn’t taste it. All I know is that it went down very well,” said Darren.
Hlaf is currently available to buy to take away, along with other ales, at Moonface on Moira Street, Loughborough.
You can buy a four pint pouch (£2.50 a pint) or take your own empty clean bottles to be filled.
Although this was a smallscale trial, it is hoped that Hlaf will be brewed on a regular basis and can eventually be sold at future events at The Green Place.
Although The Green Place - a cafe and events venue - is unable to open due to the coronavirus pandemic, Darren and Deborah are keeping busy behind the scenes during lockdown. This includes giving out free children’s crafts each week, and making owl boxes for the local reserve.