Toast Brewing (beers made from upcycled bread)

Toast Brewing was the first brand to replace some of the malted barley in beer, with bread waste. And has since inspired many other brands to do the same. Bread was used to make beer hundreds of years ago, and now this method is being used again, as an innovative way to help reduce food waste, while producing vegan-friendly beers for shops, pubs, restaurants and hotels.

Nearly half of all bread bought is wasted, so this company buys it up at a lower price. The enzymes in the malt change the starches in the bread to simple sugars, and yeast converts them to alcohol and carbon dioxide 9hops then give aroma and bitterness, and help to preserve the beer).

All distributable profits from this brand (after costs and wages) are donated to charities (rather than given to shareholders as dividends) that are helping to reduce food waste and fix the food system (there is enough food wasted to feed every hungry person on earth).

The brand was founded by Tristram Stuart who founded a food waste charity that has now morphed into Foodrise, an organisation dedicated to fixing the food system and runs a number of campaigns including community food,  reducing food waste and opposing fish farms).

• Due to upcycled ingredients, there are no allergy guarantees.
• The beer is sold in printed cans (to avoid labels). Pop ring-pulls back over holes before recycling, to avoid wildlife getting trapped. Set up a recycling program to raise money for your community!
• For bottles sold to hospitality partners, the labels are made from plastic to avoid getting damaged in wet bottling and canning lines and condensation (but they be easily removed and recycled). 
• If you buy other beers, avoid ones wrapped in those plastic beer rings, as they trap wildlife and birds (if you see any littered, rip up the holes and securely bin them).

Brewed in Staffordshire, the beers are made with typical sandwich bread (it’s not possible to brew using high-oil bread like focaccia nor high-salt bread).

So far Toast Brewing has saved over 4 million slices of bread going to waste, and donated over £127,000 to charitable causes that are working to fix the food system.

Never give stale, mouldy or crusty bread to garden birds or wildfowl as it could choke or harm. Also don’t give leftover sandwiches, as most contain toxic salt and fat (from butter) can smear on feathers, affecting waterproofing and insulation.

The Toast Brewing Range of Beers

You can find Toast Brewing beers in many shops and supermarkets (including ALDI, Co-op and Waitrose), pubs and restaurants. Or buy online (including mixed cases):

• Rise Up Lager is a Helles-style beer with all English ingredients
• Grassroots Pale Ale is packed with passionfruit, peaches and pineapple.
• New Dawn Session IPA has punchy citrus tones, a floral uplifting beer.
• Jason’s Sourdough is like ‘marmalade on toast’ with citrus and peach

Changing Tides (low-alcohol gluten-free beer)

Changing Tides is a 0.5% lager that is also gluten-free. A refreshing mix of citrus and spice. This is the official ABV for ‘alcohol-free beer’, although nothing can be truly no-alcohol as even fruit (and bread) contain minute amounts.

But you can’t get drunk on this beer, as the body processes the alcohol, faster than it’s consumed. Experts recommend that it’s still best to avoid for pregnancy/nursing and medical conditions including alcohol addiction.

UK drink-driving laws are not as strict as some countries. So although this is considered ‘safe’, in some countries (including France and Austria) the limit is lower – and lower still for newly-qualified drivers). This is because any alcohol can impair concentration, judgement and reaction times.