The novel Toast Ale craft beer which is brewed with bread was launched late last year in Cape Town and is being rolled out to Gauteng next.
The dynamic team at Toast Ale are brewing up a solution to food waste by using surplus bread by brewing a low carb beer. Toast Ale contains only 150 calories, which is almost half of the 220 calories typically found in a glass of beer or wine.
The bread replaces a 1/3 of the raw ingredients included in the mash tun. – says JC Steyn, head brewer at Devils Peak Brewery, and Bianca Hansen, the co-founder of Toast Ale in South Africa.
The bread has already gone through it’s own baking process and includes it’s own yeast, so the sugars break down a lot faster, resulting in a lower carb beer. The beer has citrus and caramel notes with a biscuit undertone.
Toast Ale is committed to empowering underprivileged South Africans by creating jobs and opportunities. They fund a year-long training programme taught by the non-profit organization, Soil for Life. Communities learn how to grow and maintain their own food gardens, creating a sustainable and long term way to feed their families and communities. Each beer purchased assists families in communities to be more self sufficient by creating jobs.
Every time you sip an ice cold Toast Ale beer you are solving a social issue and making a great contribution in our country; this tasty beer reduces food waste and offers an employment solution in communities – says Bianca.
Conceptualised in the UK, their already proven strategy will see surplus bread, which would otherwise be discarded, turned into delicious craft beer. It’s driven by a passionate team of entrepreneurs with Bianca Hansen and Jaen Beelders at the helm.
They have the support of Knead Bakery, Sandwich Baron, Hudson’s, Yuppie Chef, League of Beers and the Devils Peak Brewing Company.
In a country where 13 million people go without regular meals, 33% food wastage a year in South Africa alone is a tough pill to swallow. Sandwich factories discard the heel and first slice of every loaf and day-old bread usually gets thrown away because logistically, this surplus bread doesn’t always get to those who would benefit from it most.
This concept, developed by British Food Wastage campaigner and social entrepreneur Tristram Stuart, was launched with the support of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. In 2016 it picked up a prize for Best New Beverage Concept at the 2016 World Food Innovation Awards and earlier this year it took home a 2017 (Institute of Grocery Distribution) IGD Sustainable Futures award.
