Edible breads, cookies, granolas and coffee stirrers: all this and more can be produced from bagasse, the insoluble part of the grain used to brew beer. In Spain, this byproduct has historically been used in the production of animal feed, but companies like Panishop have been taking advantage of it for human consumption for some time.
According to the Cerveceros de España group, for every hectoliter of packaged beer, between 17 and 23 kilos of this fibrous waste are produced. Likewise, in Spain it is estimated that 600,000 tons of bagasse are generated each year, while in Europe it is about 7 million tons. This data is offered by the Life Brewery project, which works on the recovery of beer by-products as new sources of raw materials.
According to data provided by the Spanish Confederation of Compound Animal Food Manufacturers (Cesfac), feed manufacturers used 573,699 tons of bagasse in 2022, which represents 1.5% of the total ingredients used in their production.
“The use of beer bagasse is widely spread in the animal feed sector. Its protein contribution is very interesting for feed formulators, promoting the use of local raw materials and reducing protein dependence on third countries,” he expressed. to the same agency Ana Hurtado, the technical director of Cesfac. In addition, bagasse is rich in proteins, lipids and cellulose, making it very nutritionally beneficial.
Although initiatives from places like Denmark or the Netherlands have been known for a long time, in Spain the Panishop company launched bread with bagasse for the first time in 2011 in collaboration with La Zaragozana – Ámbar beer factory.
This beer brand is part of the Ágora Group, which in 2021 once again aligned itself with Panishop to make a Roman Bread made with sourdough, wheat flour, barley bagasse, whole oat flakes and chia seeds. The broad mix of carbohydrates in this bread means it contains four times more fiber than any other bread made with whole wheat flour.
Likewise, after a long R&D process, Mahou-San Miguel has managed to extract a flour from bagasse that, as company sources have explained to EFE, has a “high protein and fiber content and” is applicable in the food matrix. of many products”. In collaboration with the emerging company Gloop, specializing in the manufacture of edible cutlery, it has been possible to create edible coffee stirrers whose flavor evokes “reminiscences of beer”.
On the other hand, Estrella Galicia has launched the Estrella Galicia Milk Stout Beer Factory, which is made from lactose from the milk of cows from Galician farms fed with bagasse from the same company’s factories. In this way, a 100% circular economy of local origin is guaranteed.
Milk Stout is not the only initiative of Estrella Galicia, whose corporation Hijos de Rivera has partnered with the innovation platform Blendhub to continue developing ideas that take advantage of bagasse in food and beverages. Together, they have created the “ImpacTaste” program, which challenges final-year university students, graduates and doctoral students interested in food, technology and innovation to develop innovative business models based on healthy recipes and products made with bagasse.
All of these proposals, and those to come, reflect the interest of the beer and food industry in promoting sustainability and the circular economy through bagasse recycling. In fact, Cerveceros de España has recognized the environmental commitment of the entire sector and has highlighted that all brewing companies value almost 99.2% of the secondary material they generate.
