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Finland's Ant Brew releases goose droppings beer

Finnish microbrewery Ant Brew is launching a summer beer series with a focus on crafting beers that contribute to waste reduction. Called Wasted Potential, the beers are brewed with wild herbs and local food waste like bread, berries and fruits and even goose droppings

The first release from the collection will be a wit-style beer brewed with orange peels from a local market’s juice pressing station and fruit purees that have exceeded their best before-date. Later this summer, the small brewery will release its goose droppings beer, where this unusual ingredient will be used in the malt smoking process to create a stout.

Ant Brew said in a release that the poop is used in a food-safe way and that the spark that propelled them to investigate the use of goose excrement in beer came from the Finnish city of Lahti’s struggles with geese causes messes in local parks. By repurposing the poop, the parks will have an additional solution for this ongoing issue, and Ant Brew called it “a true two birds with one stone type of solution.”

Food waste is a continuous problem for both consumers and manufacturers globally. According to the United Nations, food that is discarded at some point in the supply chain accounts for 30% of all food produced worldwide. To help tackle this issue, upcycling has become a popular tactic with manufacturers, and consumers are eagerly supporting these efforts with their wallets.

In the beer brewing category, repurposed food waste has become a particularly prevalent push for brewers looking to grab the attention of consumers that are drifting away from beer consumption. Big multinational groups such as Constellation Brands are participating in this sustainable trend by rolling out innovations such as sustainable packaging that repurposes barley straw for its Corona brand. But Big Beer is not the only one latching onto the food waste reduction movement. Small breweries such as Toast Ale out of the U.K. has been using fresh, surplus bread in the marking of its beers since 2016. Crumbs Brewing and ReGrained are other breweries that are using reclaimed food waste in the making of their products.

Still, Ant Brew is taking things a step further and not only working with food waste but waste in general. This interesting approach is influenced by the breweries location in Lahti, Finland. Although a smaller Finnish city, Lahti is the European Green Capital of 2021 and is known for pioneering environmental action and contribution to the circular economy. This setting has given rise to a variety of innovative enterprises, including Ant Brew, which intends to continue to tackle environmental waste in interesting ways.

“A sustainable future demands effective use of resources and innovative ways of recycling,” says Saara Piispanen, Head of Communications of Lahti European Green Capital. “Together we can create solutions that are eco-friendly and represent sustainable consumption.”