U.K. brewery turns bread into beer to fight food waste

London, U.K. – A brewery in London, U.K., is combatting the problem of food waste by making an ale from fresh surplus bread that would otherwise be wasted.

Toast Ale, a craft beer company, sources surplus loaves from bakeries and the heel ends of loaves not used by sandwich makers when producing commercial sandwiches, the company said in a news release.

The company then contracts with established brewers to make several brands of beer.

All profits go to Toast Ale’s partner charity, Feedback – an environmental campaigning organisation that has spread its work into dozens of countries worldwide to change society’s attitude towards wasting food – to support the fight against food waste. According to the charity, 44 per cent of the bread produced in the U.K. is never consumed. Its goal is to save more than 100 tonnes within three years.

Tristram Stuart, founder of Feedback, launched Toast Ale in January 2016 with support and endorsement from celebrity chef and restauranteur Jamie Oliver.

The company is open-sourcing its classic “bread beer” recipe so home brewers can brew with bread themselves and help eliminate food waste.

The company laid out its four founding principles:

1. To produce great craft beer that consumers love.
2. To eliminate bread waste directly by brewing as much of it as possible.
3. To raise awareness of the problems of, and solutions to, food waste.
4. To maximize profits, all which will go directly to Feedback and other local food waste organizations.

Its range of beers includes Toast Purebread Pale Ale, Toast Bloomin’ Lovely Session IPA and Toast Much Kneaded Craft Lager.

In August 2016, the beer company collaborated with Wiper and True in Bristol, U.K., to create a product inspired by bread pudding. Taken with the idea that traditional bread pudding uses leftover bread, they brewed bread with brandy-soaked currants infused with Bourbon vanilla and cinnamon along with lactose – the sugar from cow’s milk – to create a rich, sweet and velvety Amber Ale.