Dutch brewery Gebrouwen door Vrouwen has collaborated with UK craft brewery Toast Ale for Earth Day. The breweries have created two limited edition beers to prompt a conversation about food waste.
Toasty Blond (6.2% ABV) is a crisp Belgian-style blond beer, and Grapefruit Pale Ale (4.6% ABV) is light and refreshing, with grapefruit notes. Both were brewed at Jopen Brewery, in Haarlem, Netherlands, with surplus bread that would have otherwise gone to waste.
Ten cents from every bottle sold will be donated to the Taste Before You Waste foundation, in Amsterdam. Its mission is to reduce food waste by providing citizens with the inspiration, knowledge, and opportunity for responsible and waste-free consumption.
Gebrouwen door Vrouwen translates as ‘brewed by women’. The Amsterdam-based brewery, founded by sisters Tessel and Do, is an all-female team with passion for great tasting beer.
“When I got the request to brew a beer together with Toast Ale I was immediately intrigued. Using surplus bread instead of grains was totally new for me, but sounded like such a logical solution,” said Do de Heij.
“At Gebrouwen door Vrouwen we are very much interested in sustainability, and that’s why we love the mission of Toast Ale and Taste Before You Waste to raise more awareness about food waste. Also, we are very excited that the beers got so super tasty that we may have brewed a new favorite.”
“Food systems are responsible for 34% of [greenhouse gas] emissions and 80% of deforestation, but one-third of food is wasted. Reducing food waste is a fun and delicious way to take action,” said Louisa Ziane, co-founder of Toast Ale.
“We love collaborating with other businesses on solutions, and are delighted to be working with Gebrouwen door Vrouwen to inspire people to act, over a beer.”
The limited-edition bottled beers will be available for purchase in the Netherlands via PICNIC from Friday (22nd April). The beers will also be on draught at the Gebrouwen door Vrouwen taproom bar on the same day, with a free-to-attend launch party from 5pm (with snacks made from surplus food by Taste Before You Waste).
