Toast Brewing has teamed up with Northern Monk for the second in its Breaking Bread series, a new collaboration brewed with surplus bakery bread.
Toast has been using surplus bread to brew beer since 2015, on a mission to end food waste. The brewing company often collaborates with other brewers to share its unique circular economy approach.
Northern Monk is an independent, founder-led brewery, with creativity, community, and collaboration at its core. It recently gained B Corp certification, like Toast, meaning it works to the highest social and ecological standards.
The two have collaborated on a number of beers previously, including a punchy Peanut Butter and Jam Stout, in 2024.
The new collaboration is a 4.5% ABV dry-hopped lager, brewed with 19,000 slices of surplus bakery bread. Stacked up, that would reach the height of 12 Angel of the North statues!
The bread replaces some malted barley, reducing the environmental footprint of the beer. Classic hops give herby aromas of freshly cut grass with a citrus-led bite.
‘Great beer should do more than taste good’
“The Breaking Bread series is all about connecting people — across the brewing industry and across communities — to raise a Toast to planet Earth,” said Rob Wilson, co-founder of Toast Brewing.
“We’ve loved collaborating with Northern Monk over the years, so it was great that they joined us for our latest series of epic brewery collaborations for Co-op.”
Russell Bisset, founder and managing director of Northern Monk, added: “At Northern Monk, we believe great beer should do more than taste good — it should do good. Turning surplus bread into great beer is a simple idea with huge impact.
“The Breaking Bread series really highlights what can happen when breweries come together around a shared purpose. We’re proud to have collaborated with fellow B Corp, Toast Brewing, to make it happen.”
