Why Drinking Toast Brewing Beer Helps Fight Food Waste
Toast Brewing is a unique brand of beer brewed in Staffordshire, which replaces around 25% of malted barley in their brewing recipes with surplus bread from bakeries, to help prevent food waste.
Around 44% of bread bought in England is simply thrown away. So far it’s saved over 4 million slices from going to landfill.
Is the packaging zero waste?
The cans are made from aluminium, printed to avoid the need for labels.
To avoid wildlife getting stuck in cans, rinse then pop the ring-pulls back over holes. Then step on top end of cans (this pinches inner rims together, to make cans inaccessible to inquisitive creatures).
In the hospitality industry, labels are typically plastic due to set bottling and canning lines, and condensation from moving between ambient and chilled environments. Call your council or provide for appropriate recycling advice.
How does bread waste help to make beer?
The bread replaces around 25% of malted barley. The malt has enzymes that change starches in the bread to simple sugars, so yeast can convert them to alcohol and carbon dioxide. Before adding hops to preserve the beer, and give aroma and bitterness.
Toast Brewing buys surplus bread (often the ‘heels’ that are not used in sandwiches) from bakeries at lower cost, the discount funding their food safety requirements. Many types of bread are used, but some cannot be used like focacca (too high in oil) and some sourdough bread (too high in salt). Due to being made with bread, the beers are not gluten-free.
The brand was founded by food waste campaigner Tristram Stuart, who holds a Golden Share, to protect the mission of the company. 100% of profits help support his campaigns to prevent food waste worldwide (there is enough food thrown out each day, to feed everyone on earth).
Don’t give stale/mouldy/crusty bread to garden birds or wildlife, as it could choke (fat also smears on feathers, affecting waterproofing/insulation).
Are Toast Beers vegan?
Yes they are! Unlike some beers that filter beers with bone char or isinglass (fish bladder), all Toast Beers are vegan-friendly.
The Range of Toast Brewing Beers
There is just a small range of three beers (plus an alcohol-free version below).
Rise Up Lager
This is a refreshing Helles-style beer with English hops – clean and crisp.
Grassroots Pale Ale
This is a hazy pale ale with tropical flavours of passionfruit, peach and pineapple.
New Dawn Session IPA
This beer features citrus and floral notes, a punch beer made with modern American hops.
Are there alcohol-free beers?
Changing Tides is the 0.5% beer (no beer can be called 0% as even bread and fruit has a little alcohol). This is a refreshing mix of citrus and spice, made with surplus bread, malted barley and English hops.
You can’t get drunk on it, though experts recommend that pregnant/nursing women still avoid any beer, due to the tiny amounts of alcohol, just to be safe.
Where can you buy Toast Brewing beers?
You can buy online as single beer types or mixed cases (free delivery for orders over £40), with discounts for regular subscriptons. You can also search online for stockists including independent off licenses and Waitrose branches.
