Crumbs Brewing, of Reigate, has launced a Rye Coffee Porter (7% ABV), using not only leftover bread from Chalk Hills Bakery, but also coffee grounds from the bakery shop.
The beer has been developed utilising the skills from the team at Union Hand-Roasted Coffee, who supply Chalk Hills.
Crumbs Brewing launched just over 15 months ago, on a mission to reduce the amount of Chalk Hills Bakery bread that was going to waste by turning it into beer.
In less than six months it expanded its range from one beer (the Bloomin’ Amber Lager, made from leftover Bloomer loaves) to three beers (adding a Sourdough Pale Ale and Rye Ruby Ale to the mix).
Now, it has stretched the concept of repurposing even further with a venture into the dark-side of brewing with the launch of the Rye Coffee Porter, the strongest and darkest of the beers to date at 7% ABV.
Morgan Arnell, of Crumbs Brewing, said: “It was always an ambition of ours to stretch the Crumbs concept beyond bread. The next biggest source of leftovers at the bakery shop came from their hard-working coffee machine. It creates kilos of leftover grounds every day that Chalk Hills struggle to know what to do with.
“We approached their suppliers, the awesome team at Union Hand-Roasted Coffee, and they were really keen to get involved.”
Creating something delicious by combating waste
Kerttu Inkeroinen, marketing director at Union Hand-Roasted Coffee, said: “‘At Union, we’ve always loved the idea of making a coffee beer, and when Crumbs Brewing got in touch we were immediately on board.
“We especially love the fact that Crumbs Brewing is creating something delicious by combating waste — we are always looking for ways to make coffee as sustainable as possible.”
Morgan added: “The challenge was that used coffee grounds alone can impart a lot of bitterness to a beer. Union suggested the recipe should complement the used grounds with some of their newly launched double-strength cold brew coffee.
“We loved the idea as it opened up the opportunity to use this beautifully smooth and cold-filtered coffee at the fermentation stage, rather than simply in the mash.”
Although strong in alcohol, the beer aims to be smooth and rich. As well as the complex flavours of rye bread, the inclusion of coffee will give the beer a rich toffee chocolate depth.
