It has been said that “Man shall not live by bread alone,” but now he can, thanks to Crumbs Brewing.
I hope you’ll forgive this heinous misappropriation of the Bible, it was too good a confluence to pass up. Because Crumbs Brewing’s beer is made from bread. Leftover bread; the crumbs.
Microbreweries are a booming phenomenon in my part of the world right now and Crumbs Brewing epitomizes everything good about the movement. It’s a local business that has embedded itself in the community, and its raison d’etre is reuse. Crumbs have teamed up with a local bakery, Chalk Hills Bakery, to convert its unsold bread into beer. So by drinking it, you’re cutting down on waste too.
The fermentation process takes unwanted crumbs and turns them into amber. It’s almost literally chaff into gold. Crumbs Brewing is the brain-child of three entrepreneurs who have worked tirelessly to make their community project a success. One of them is a good friend of mine, a board gamer, bass guitarist, and a parent. A GeekDad in many ways! Their first batches of Amber Beer have been very well received (some by me; it has a rich, unique flavor!) and have now all sold out.
In order to expand their range, Crumbs has turned to crowdfunding. It’s launched a campaign to brew two (hopefully three) new beers: a Sourdough IPA, a Rye Ruby, and, if all goes well, the team will experiment with an intriguing concoction, a Rye Coffee Porter. This will be a mixture of rye and used coffee grounds—double the recycling!
The campaign is well underway, but there is still time to pledge and sup some delicious new ales before Christmas. I’ll be hoping to get my hands on some of the Ruby. £30 will buy you 6 bottles of one the types of beer on offer. Bigger pledges for more beer and special events are available too. This is a great way to join the microbrewing revolution, enjoy some tasty beer, and come together to make something happen.
Unfortunately, the beers can only be sent out to the UK and the EU, so our US-based readers will have to travel to the UK to sample the wonders of Crumbs Brewing’s ale. But fear not, the pound is so weak at the moment, there’s almost never been a better time to do so!
