A monastic brewery near Munich has created the world’s first powdered beer. Just add water and you’ll get a foam with a creamy head and full flavor. The result promises massive transportation savings, as it can be shipped at just 10% of its original weight.
Klosterbrauerei Neuzelle worked together with “technology partners” and used BMWi funds to create its first powdered product, a dextrin-rich non-alcoholic beer that was brewed using conventional methods, then “processed and brewed into a water-soluble powder/granulate” .
They are currently testing this powder on the market in small quantities through mid-2023, but the plan is to start producing alcoholic beers soon and scale things up as long as people buy it. And the team believes there is a chance to ditch traditional brewing techniques, compressing the process to minimize the use of materials, labor and energy.
“The time is right to put the production and logistics of classic beer to the test in view of how we treat our environment,” says major Neuzelle shareholder Helmut Fritsche. “Billions of liters of water are transported to consumers around the world, because beer contains up to 90% water. From an environmental point of view, we are already saving on transportation, but not yet on resource use and production costs.”
“We assume that classic pilsner drinkers and craft beer enthusiasts, especially in Germany, will be skeptical about our product at first,” adds managing director Stefan Fritsche. “This is not just about bringing a new product to market, but about disrupting the beer business model. Therefore, we do not see our main target audience as the classic German end consumer, but as global distributors, who do not necessarily have to have brewing knowledge, but can make the granules suitable for the application of the beer. final consumer”.
Powdered beer exists and you can buy it now
In fact, the brewery will start targeting far-flung markets like Asia and Africa first, where transportation costs are higher and beer snobbery is presumably less of a concern than it is back home.
We imagine that there are many people who are interested in trying these powders. If they do what they say on the tin and deliver a great drinking experience without the need to carry around water and bottles, this could absolutely turn out to be a disruptive and revolutionary advance.