This summer Finns can drink beer brewed with wild herbs, food waste and even goose feces. The new beers by a local microbrewery Ant Brew celebrate the European Green Capital year of the city of Lahti and share an important message of a wasteless circular economy.
The Finnish city of Lahti is known for their pioneering environmental action, and for their open-minded co-operation with local people. Now the European Green Capital 2021 joins forces with the local microbrewery Ant Brew by crafting a new beer series. The Wasted Potential beers are brewed with wild herbs, local food waste, like bread, berries and fruits – and even goose droppings.
The poop is used in a food-safe way to smoke malt to create a unique stout beer. The goose droppings are gathered from local parks, where geese are causing a messy problem. Now, the local parks get cleaner and the special edition summer beverages are perfect for a picnic in the park – a true two birds with one stone type of solution.
The beers showcase how all waste can be utilized. City of Lahti aims to be completely wasteless circular economy city by 2050, and at the moment 99% of the city’s household waste is already repurposed.
A taste of potential that was not wasted
A sustainable future demands effective use of resources and innovative ways of recycling. Lahti has several well-known breweries, so what would be a better way to celebrate our environment this summer than locally brewed beers, says Saara Piispanen, Head of Communications of Lahti European Green Capital.
The beer that uses goose droppings in the malt smoking process will be released later in the summer. First to be released is a wit-style beer inspired by waste-free circular economy: brewed with orange peels from a local market’s juice pressing station, and fruit purees that have exceeded their best before-date.
This series of beers is our way to create important discussions about food waste, utilization of waste, urban farming, and local and wild food among beer enthusiasts. Working with the Lahti Green Capital has been great. We are constantly developing ways to utilize new ingredients in brewing, and are not afraid to think outside of the box, says Ant Brew’s Kari Puttonen.
Our environment and circular economy are important for us, and we want to discuss these topics in interesting ways. Together we can create solutions that are eco-friendly and represent sustainable consumption, says Piispanen.
All over the world, Steinecker has for more than 145 years now been known as a strong brand synonymous with brewing technology. By combining technology from Steinecker with its own portfolio, Krones has meanwhile positioned itself on the market as a one-stop supplier in the brewing and beverage industry for over 25 years.
Krones wants to be there for its clients as a partner they can rely on whenever they need help and to this end locate areas of untapped optimisation potential on a continuous basis. In order to see this aspiration rigorously through to achievement, it is necessary to review the relevant processes and render them more efficient and customer-responsive. As part of this thrust, Krones has now decided to focus even more meaningfully in future on plant and equipment construction in process technology.
Beginning in April 2021, the newly founded Steinecker GmbH will therefore offer all of the solutions and equipment required in a brewery, from raw materials reception right through to the finished product. The company’s portfolio will be supplemented by appropriate after-sales and service concepts. Dirk Hämling will take over as Managing Director. He has since last summer been in charge of the Breweries Business Line at Freising. Dirk Hämling has spent more than 20 years gaining valuable international experience and during that time held various managerial positions at plant and machinery manufacturers whose focus is on process technology.
Marrying strengths to strengths
The Krones facility in Freising near Munich will in future be Steinecker GmbH’s headquarters – and the roughly 450-head-strong team working there, comprising experienced brewery and beverage experts, engineers, technologists, project managers, and automation and production experts, will continue to look after their brewery clients’ projects all over the world, just as they have done before. The entire project planning and processing team, the engineering, production and erection/installation departments, plus the product development operation, will be represented at this facility. One major focus will first and foremost be on a sustainable, energy-efficient, CO2-neutral brewing process. The company’s own experimental brewing facility, the Steinecker BrewCenter, is the perfect supplement here, offering a basis for developing innovations and upgrades of products used in the brewing process.
The company’s portfolio will be expanded to include two additional modules: Steinecker will also combine at one location all automation-related products and services and integrate control solutions like its own Botec F1 process control system – providing this service not only for breweries but also for clients in the dairy and beverage sectors. Furthermore, the company will offer appropriate after-sales and service concepts, precisely tailored to the requirements of process-technology systems.
Above and beyond this, Steinecker will continue to benefit from its can-do alliance with Krones, utilising the group’s strong, international production, sales and service network with its over 100 sites located all over the world. When a beverage company will in future opt for a turnkey solution from the House of Krones, the entire kit, comprising not only process-technology systems but also filling technology or utility solutions, will come from a single source as before.
The International Brewing and Cider Awards announced the medal winners for 2019; certifying 133 beers and ciders as among the best in the world.
The beer medal winners ranged from small craft breweries from all corners of the globe to well-known brands such as Sierra Nevada, Samuel Adams, Camden Town, Deschutes, Fullers and Big Drop.
Meanwhile, successful cider winners included Sheppy’s. Aspall’s, Angry Orchards and Strongbow amongst many smaller craft brands from Somerset, England to Camino, Calfornia.
The competition – attracting entries from 200+ breweries and cider mills from around world – was judged by an international panel of 50 judges.
Over 1000 beers and ciders from 50 countries were submitted for judging, which took place over an intensive three-day period.
Judging categories ranged from ultra-low ABV beers to high-strength styles, showcasing the versatility and variety found in modern-day brewing.
Cider categories included different fruit varieties, hopped and ice ciders, as well as judging across sweet and dry styles.
An International Brewing & Cider Awards medal is considered among the industry’s most coveted awards.
Established in 1888 – and evolving consistently over time to reflect an ever-changing beer and cider industry – the International Brewing & Cider Awards aim to reward and recognise the innovation, attention to detail and hard work that goes into beer and cider production.
The awards will culminate with the medal presentations at London’s Guildhall, where members of the international brewing and cider-making community will come together to discover and celebrate the 2019 trophy winners.
Speaking of this year’s medal winners, Ruth Evans MBE, Director of Brewing Technology Services who oversee the awards, said: “It brings me great pleasure to announce the medal winners, and no small measure of pride to be involved in our fantastic industry. These awards are a bastion of excellence, and we are always sincerely impressed by the talent of the medal winners. With each round of awards, the standards are pushed ever higher. Competition is fierce, and receiving a medal is an achievement to be truly proud of. My congratulations to all!”
Chairman of Judging, Bill Taylor, said: “Being Chairman of Judging has been such a privilege. My thanks go out to my fellow judges, and to all those who are involved in organising these incredible awards, especially our technical installation team. We pride ourselves on ensuring that the integrity of any product submitted remains in peak condition, and that it is dispensed to our Judges at the brewers’ and cider makers’ recommended temperature. Judging and sampling the quality of entries has been a wonderful experience, and we have been blown away by the brewing and cider making talent that we have witnessed.”
