Adnams is brewing three new beers exclusively for Marks and Spencer using surplus M&S British bread, under the name Used Our Loaf.
Triple English Hop Southwold Pale Ale, Earl Grey Pale Ale and Raspberry Fruit Beer are available in selected Marks and Spencer stores, and all three beers will be available online at M&S shortly.
Adnams has worked with Marks and Spencer for a number of years, making well over a dozen beers for the supermarket in various formats. The Used Our Loaf beers are made using surplus bread from the retailer’s sandwich producer. The bread was previously sent for animal feed, so wasn’t wasted, but it can be diverted by one more step by being made into a delicious range of beers first.
Bread is made from grains such as barley, wheat and rye — exactly the same raw materials that are used to make beer. Inspired by the brilliant work by Toast Ale, Marks and Spencer and the Adnams brewing team pulled together their thinking and experience to create the first beer using surplus bread for a UK supermarket.
The first brew was created using around 700 kilograms of surplus bread and added three times as much malted barley. Each beer then uses different hops at various stages of the brewing process to ensure the perfect level of bitterness and aromas.
At the end of the process, once all the sugars have been extracted, the grains, bread and hops (as with all Adnams beers) are sent away to be re-used as animal feed, so there is no wastage.
These new beers form part of Marks and Spencer’s Plan A strategy, helping to build a sustainable future by being a business that enables customers to have a positive impact on wellbeing, communities and the planet.
Adnams is a silver Plan A supplier to Marks and Spencer, and the Northamption-based breadmaker, Greencore, has a gold Plan A certification.
Fergus Fitzgerald, head brewer, at Adnams, said: “We’re very proud to work alongside Marks and Spencer, whose business plan and values around sustainability align perfectly with our own. We loved the idea of using a surplus product, and it’s allowed our brewing team to create three exciting new beers.”
