Baked and wasted: Brouhaha teams up with sustainability chef Simon Toohey on a no-waste beer using leftover pastries
Our brewery crew teamed up with Victorian celebrity chef and sustainability advocate Simon Toohey on a no-waste beer coined ‘Baked and Wasted’ that uses leftover bakery goods in its innovative ingredients list.
Head Brewer, Matt, joined forces with the former MasterChef contestant on the consciously crafted sour after the duo discovered their shared history as bakers and longstanding commitment to a circular economy to limit wastage and unused byproducts.
Simon’s efforts in eco-friendly food solutions and Matt's creative flair for fruited sours results in a beer that melds ethics and expertise, incorporating pastries, bread, iced finger buns, doughnuts and pull-a-parts from a local Sunshine Coast bakery that would have otherwise been thrown out.
When it came to the brewing process, we let the baked goods lead the direction of the beer’s flavour profile.
“After we identified what we wanted to achieve with a no-waste pastry sour, we were pretty much flying blind when it came to the finished flavour of the beer, and that was the case right the way through the brewing process,” said Matt.
“Each day the bakery deliveries varied - some days we would get loads of bread loaves and rolls, other days there were doughnuts and finger buns; it was an exciting challenge to constantly adapt and be led by the flavours that were coming through each day.”
The finished result is a play on a chocolate-vanilla pull apart, which Matt said is balanced, refreshing and tart.
“The first runnings were a lot sweeter than our previous sours and showed hints of vanilla from the icing. With no dominant fruit flavour to take advantage of, we decided to take inspiration from a choc pull apart, which featured throughout the bakery deliveries. Once the sweetness had fermented out, this left us with a refreshingly dry and tart sour that would contrast perfectly with the addition of rich chocolate and velvety vanilla. The addition of cacao nibs, chocolate essence and vanilla bean made for subtle chocolate and vanilla notes that balance beautifully and help keep the tartness of the sour in check.”
“It was great to collaborate with Simon, he’s so passionate about reducing waste and re-purposing and has an eye for creating some crazy beer recipes. We really pushed the envelope with this one,” said Matt.
Aligning with Simon’s plant-based approach to cooking, and as a first for the brewery, Baked and Wasted also uses natural coconut yoghurt as part of the souring process.
“It is always important to support the plant based world especially when it is fighting food waste, it’s a double whammy” said Simon.
“Using Coyo as part of the souring process is such a great way to change things up. Brouhaha uses yogurt as a souring agent due to its live lactobacillus cultures. It was a revelation to know that Coyo has similar cultures in their vegan friendly natural yogurt."
Baked and Wasted has been submitted by Brouhaha into the Great Australian Beer Spectacular (GABS) festival, which kicks off May 7, when Australia and New Zealand’s best brewers pop-up in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne each weekend of May to showcase their newest and most innovative creations.
