Who knew bread and beer could be delicious and sustainable? Thanks to Brewerkz and Baker & Cook’s commitment to food waste reduction, we now have new sourdough bread and pale ale to love.
The upcycled, regenerative collaboration between the award-winning craft brewery and artisan bakery and food store has yielded two new products – and possibly Singapore’s first pair of circular foods.
Earthbrew Sourdough Pale Ale is made with surplus Baker & Cook sourdough bread collected from supermarkets around the island and online platforms. The toasted sourdough makes up 20 percent of the beer’s grain bill. (For every 2,500 litres of beer, 180kg of surplus sourdough bread is used.)
It is a crisp and refreshing brew that will appeal to most drinkers, with grapefruit-like hop flavours and bready toast maltiness, followed by a cleansing bitter aftertaste.
NEWGrain+ Sourdough incorporates NEWGrain+, a sustainable food ingredient made from brewers’ spent grains, the residual by-product of Brewerkz’s beer brewing process. Each rustic loaf contains 64g of the ingredient, and has a caramelised crust, an irregular crumb, and tangy and nutty flavours.
NEWGrain+ is rich in protein, dietary fibre, vitamins, and minerals. Due to their collection before fermentation, the grains are alcohol-free. Approximately 80,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools of spent grains are produced annually by breweries.
Small amounts become animal feed, but most are discarded. Repurposing reduces food waste and demands for traditional crops, diverts them from landfills, diversifies food industry ingredients, and conserves water and land.
“Earthbrew Sourdough Pale Ale and NEWGrain+ Sourdough mark the next milestone in our sustainability journey,” says Tan Wee Tuck, co-owner and managing director of Brewerkz. “This is our third sustainable beer collaboration and our first with NEWGrain+, a sustainable food product. Baker & Cook is the perfect partner for this.”
Until Oct 31, 2023, all Baker & Cook outlets, except at Holiday Inn Express Clarke Quay and InterContinental Bugis, are also offering daily NEWGrain+ specials until 3pm: Sautéed Mushrooms ($18) with garlic pesto, truffle mascarpone and poached egg or Braised Beef Cheek ($22) with root vegetables and NEWGrain+ Sourdough with a can of Earthbrew Sourdough Pale Ale at just $7.
Both NEWGrain+ Sourdough ($10.50) and Earthbrew Sourdough Pale Ale ($7.80) are available at all Bake & Cook’s 12 outlets and e-store, while Earthbrew Sourdough Pale Ale ($7.80) is available at Brewekz’s five outlets and e-store.
