Toast Brewing (artisan beers made with bread waste)

Toast Brewing replaces 25% of brewing yeast with surplus sandwich loaves and ‘heel ends’ from bakeries. So far saving 3 million slices of bread from going to landfill, other malt is bought from regenerative farmers, with spent grains collected by local farmers.

The company also gives 100% of profits (after costs and staff salaries) to good causes, mostly to a food waste charity. Volunteers for its Gleaning Network turn surplus farm produce into free meals, and once even cooked a dinner to ‘feed the 5000’. Jesus would be proud! Tristram is Toast Brewing’s ‘Golden Shareholder’, to ensure it never ‘sells out’.

Although beers use bread without seeds, nuts, fruits or vegetables (to avoid flavour contamination), upcycled ingredients means there are no allergy guarantees. The company also does not use oily bread – so no focaccia beer!)

Before recycling, pop the ring-pulls back over the cans, to help avoid wildlife getting caught inside. Set up a can recycling program to raise money for your community! Never buy beers wrapped in plastic rings, they harm wildlife (if you see any, rip the holes and securely bin).

Choose from:

• Grassroots Pale Ale  (peaches, passionfruit & pineapple)
• Rise Up Lager (an English Helles-style beer)
• New Dawn Session IPA (punchy citrus & floral notes)
• Changing Tides (0.5% low-alcohol citrus-spice lager)

Toast Brewing uses upcycled bread at the heart of their recipes. Each slice replaces some of the barley that would usually go into beer. By rescuing bread, they reduce food waste and give new life to what others throw away. This lowers demand for extra crops, cuts greenhouse gas emissions and keeps our bins a little emptier.

Surplus bread doesn’t mean lower quality or odd flavours. Toast beers taste crisp and fresh. The bread brings gentle notes, adding to the depth of the drink. You’ll find the same quality and finish you’d expect from any top beer. Every pint is proof that no taste is lost by making use of good leftover bread.

Changing Tides (0.5% alcohol beer)

Changing Tides is a 0.5% vegan lager from Toast Ale, which replaces some of the brewing yeast with leftover bread, to save on food waste. Profits go to help a food waste charity. It’s made with English hops and malted barley. Pubs, hotels and restaurants can order marketing materials and beer mats (the brand also sells boozy beers!)

No alcohol can be 0% booze, as even fruit and bread contain a little alcohol. But 0.5% is the main percentage used. It is safe to drive, but it’s best to avoid even this amount, if pregnant or nursing.

If you like to drink boozy beer, and are wondering whether you need to cut down (and perhaps sub with a few alcohol-free beers through the week), here is a simple guide (none of that confusing ‘unit’ stuff):

For a normal sized adult, NHS recommendations are (these are either/or – not all together!):

• 6 pints of beer a week (not all on the same day!)
• 6 glasses of wine a week
• 12 measures of spirits

So in plain English, if you drink 14 pints of beer a week (way over recommended limits) but still wanted to drink beer, you would cut down to one beer a day for six days (and the other one could be alcohol-free, plus go booze-free one day a week). Or mix and match if you also drink wine or spirits.