Beer Malt Shovel Brewers Our Green Beer

If you’re after a beer that’s “just a bit more kind for our planet”, Malt Shovel Brewers have just released Our Green Beer.†

As well as celebrating a number of the environmentally-friendly processes they’ve implemented for all of their brewing, such as their carbon neutral accreditation and use of renewable energy, this beer relies on ingredients that highlight the ways breweries can reduce their footprint: malt from Gladfield, a company focused on improving their sustainability with systems like re-using steeped water for irrigation and transitioning to bio-fuel to kiln their malt, and concentrated hop products, which reduce the load of transport and cold storage.

But, as brewer Max Cook says: “The real highlight is obviously the key ingredient – a half a tonne of Kellogg’s household name cereals sourced through Yume that otherwise would’ve gone to waste.”

Let me take this opportunity to highlight Yume, a social enterprise that seeks to prevent commercial food waste by connecting suppliers with surplus food with buyers who can purchase it at a reduced cost. I just looked through the website at what’s available: hundreds of kilograms of peach and nectarine and plum purée going at a 60 percent discount? 15kg of salted caramel syrup at 56 percent discount? 25kg of milk ruby chocolate at 30 percent discount? Get on it, brewers!

Now, back to Our Green Beer. It’s a delicate construction of fruits, florals and sweet toffee, with Simcoe and Citra hops laying a familiar foundation for newer varieties Sabro and Loral to build upon with their flourishes. It all holds together like a house of cards that makes you look on and nod in approval.

You can watch this animated video from Malt Shovel Brewers to get a bit more insight into the brewing process. You can check out Yume’s website to see the good they’re doing and the products available through their platform. And you can drink this beer to get a taste of how it all fits together.

Mick Wust

†It’s strange that this needs to be made explicit, but in this day and age it’s important to clarify: this beer is not green in colour. It’s a normal looking IPA made with sustainability in mind.