Turning Food Waste Into Beer

Brewing is a wasteful business. 

Sadly, this is not new knowledge. From the growing and transportation of ingredients to water wastage, there are many aspects of beer brewing that need improving. And with the global craft beer industry steadily growing, a change to practices is required sooner rather than later.

In Copenhagen, Denmark, circular brewery BRØL is actively exploring new ways to minimize waste. However, at BRØL, beer is not the primary focus. Rather, it is a delicious byproduct of positive change.

“Sustainability is kind of bysided in brewing, but here it is a core value,” explains Saimon Skurichin, 31, founder of BRØL and former Civil Engineering student. Saimon’s goal in life is to challenge food systems and management in order to innovate sustainable practices. His approach with BRØL, he says, is to “fix what is broken whilst laying the path for the direction we’re heading.” 

Originally from Lithuania, Saimon came into brewing through food. Working as a chef during his studies in Copenhagen, he came to realise just how much food was wasted in the kitchen, and how limited he was in his capacity to do something about it. 

Noticing that bread was one of the most wasted items whilst also being a beer enthusiast got Saimon thinking. “I realised that bread and beer has a lot of things in common. No one really knows which came first, but they can both become the other.”

The starchy version of the chicken and the egg propelled Saimon into experimenting with turning spent sourdough into beer. The Danish words for bread and beer, ‘brød’ and ‘øl’ became BRØL. And that’s where the story starts.

Since 2018, BRØL has initiated several collaborations to minimise food waste and increase circularity across Danish society. From their spicy saison brewed on leftover sushi rice that they then sell back to the restaurant, to donating their spent hops for handcrafted soap bars, Saimon is working with local producers and businesses to source ingredients directly and promote sustainable practices in the community. 

Fortunately for Saimon, Denmark not only has a long history with brewing, but also benefits from the culinary change spearheaded by the New Nordic food movement. This means that farmers are encouraged to promote the cultivation of local edible plants - including those historically used in beer. 

About 1.5 years ago, Saimon discovered a local malt producer, who is producing organic malt from emmer grain, which has been growing in the wild in Scandinavia for centuries. “There are several benefits for him as well as us to using this grain,” Saimon explains. Agriculturally, farmers are exempt from having to alter the surrounding environment because the emmer grain already has the genetic formular to grow in Denmark. “In regards to brewing,” Saimon continues, “it means we are strengthening our local supply chain and the biodynamic culture in Denmark, rather than depleting resources elsewhere.” 

Foraging in the Danish nature is another tool providing inspiration for new and interesting brews, as many wild herbs, flowers and roots carry enormous unused flavour potential. One example is Walking on Moss, a Wild Ale that has been flavoured with spruce needles. 

With hops too, BRØL is looking towards the Danish wilderness for inspiration. “The Nordics have a very rich history when it comes to beer and beer-like beverages. Before hops, other ingredients readily available in the wild, such as sweetgale, were used as a bittering agent, and we’re trying to work with them as an alternative to hops,” Saimon explains. He is currently using primarily organic hops, but with the cost and low reusability, his hope is to forage a stable alternative. 

Besides sourcing locally and challenging food waste, BRØL is also looking at practices around water wastage and contamination. Whilst local water sources may have defined a style of beer back in the days, in modern times, brewers are able to tailor their water via chemical processes. But this in turn generates a lot of waste.

At BRØL, they “decided to put a middle finger to it,” says Saimon. Instead, biotransformation is being used, together with efforts to understand how minerals and particles in the water react with the yeast. BRØL is also drawing inspiration from home-brewers who are growing yeast themselves. “I always question the process, read books and then surround myself with people who are experts on the matter,” he explains. “A lot of the time, home-brewers are driving innovation, and I think it’s about time we brought their knowledge into craft brewing.”

“Someone has to take the first step,” says Saimon. But he also feels that circulation loses its purpose if it remains within the four walls of the brewery. “External circulation is also important in order to drive innovation internally and within different industries and businesses,” he says. But for many brewers, although they may agree with the approach, changing practices is easier said than done. “Of course, you have to consider how much you can compromise on cost, flavour and organic produce,” Saimon admits. “It is easy for me precisely because sustainability and circularity is at the core of BRØL as a business.”

However, Saimon believes that change is being promoted, especially if more people take the same approach as BRØL. “I think it’s about being open and having touch-points with the local community, also beyond the brewing industry,” Saimon says. “Like, who isn’t to say we can collaborate with a bank for example? If we can open one of our beers together and enjoy a talk about the production system behind, then it is bound to trigger the right questions.”