Athlone resident is helping to turn bread into beer!

A local craft brewer has found a creative use of surplus bread, using it as an ingredient for a beer which is going on sale in the lead-up to Christmas.

Liam Hanlon, who lives in Valleycourt, Athlone, is the co-founder and head brewer at St Mel's Independent Brewing Company in Longford.

The brewery has been in operation since 2014, and its latest release is an innovative beer designed to help cut down on food waste.

It's the result of an Environmental Protection Agency-funded pilot project, for which St Mel's teamed up with a neighbouring business in Longford, Panelto Foods.

Using Panelto Foods' surplus bread as an ingredient, Liam has now brewed a Belgian-style Golden Ale which is about to go on sale to customers from the shop at St Mel's brewery and its online store.

"The 'bread-to-beer' project is a testament to our forward-thinking and sustainable values as a business," Liam commented.

"The key challenge for us in this project was to use waste bread that is already available from Panelto Foods to make beer but without affecting its flavour profile.

"As a business, this project will help us reduce our carbon emissions, support our sustainable manufacturing and should allow us to make cost-base improvements as the waste mash we produce as a by-product from the brewing process can then be returned to the bakery and added to its bread, improving the nutritional profile without altering the taste. A win-win for all."

This year has been a busy one for St Mel’s, which opened one of the first licensed brewery shops in Ireland, as well as developing its website to start selling online.

Earlier this year, the brewery secured a producer’s retail licence, awarding it a unique opportunity to sell online to Irish consumers nationwide and to 25 countries overseas including Finland, Netherlands, Germany and the UK and France.