Beer purists may baulk at the idea but a German abbey brewery has developed a process that could reduce the carbon footprint of the industry: beer powder.
Much in the same way that you prepare instant coffee, hot chocolate or baby formula, the Klosterbrauerei, located in the German state of Brandenburg, south of Frankfurt, has come up with the idea of beer granules which can be added to water to create a beverage similar to a blonde lager.
Apart from the presence of dextrin, a starch derivative which acts as a thickener, the beer is brewed conventionally before being transformed into granules. At the moment, the result is an alcohol-free drink, but the brewery is working on a process where alcohol molecules can be attached to the mix in future.
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The process is expected to reduce the amount of water used in brewing plus reduce the costs and emissions related to transport. In the trade newspaper The Drinks Business, the boss of the brewery reveals that this powdered beer would save between 3% and 5% of CO2 emissions generated by Germany.
The brewery aims above all to sway more distant markets such as Asia and Africa, as well as attract traders who have no brewing knowledge.
