Bake and brew: Japanese bakery company tackles food waste by upcycling bread crusts into craft beers

Sakaeya Bakery, founded in 1923, launched the Better Life with Upcycle brand in 2021 to address food waste. In 2022, it introduced a sustainable craft beer made from bread crusts via an external brewery before establishing its own brewery in 2023.

The bakery’s new business model focuses on upcycling, aiming to showcase possibilities for food manufacturers. All of its craft beers use bread crusts as a partial substitute for malt. Recently, it launched Iyokan Saison, a low-malt beer, available online and in select stores in Ehime Prefecture.

Iyokan Saison is a low-malt beer (happoshu) made in collaboration between Better Life with Upcycle and MOTTAINAI COCOLOFARM, which produces JAS-certified organic Iyokan oranges in Ehime Prefecture.

The beer is brewed by steeping Iyokan peels in wort during fermentation and replacing part of the malt with bread crusts, creating a refreshing, citrusy flavor. It contains rare organic oranges, which make up only 0.09% of Japan’s total orange production.

The combination of wheat softness from bread crusts, the spicy notes of Belgian Saison yeast, and the citrus aroma of Iyokan oranges results in a crisp, slightly sour, and refreshing finish.

Source:FoodNavigator Asia.