I’ll toast to that! Warburtons launches its first ever BEER made from wonky crumpets in a bid to tackle food waste
- The UK retailer is now selling the 4.2 per cent IPA, called The Toasted Crumpet
- It is made from wonky crumpets that don’t make the cut into their packets
- Beer is the shop’s first non-baked product in its 140 plus year history
Bakery giant Warburtons has revealed an unlikely move into the brewing industry with the launch of an IPA made from ‘wonky’ crumpets, in order to fight food waste.
The UK retailer is now selling the 4.2 per cent IPA, called The Toasted Crumpet, which is made from surplus crumpets that didn’t quite make the cut.
Made by replacing the malted barley in the beer with crumpets, the light session IPA is Warburtons first non-baked product in its 140-year history.
The beer is currently only available from Warburtons’ website, which cost £28 for 12 330ml bottles.
There’s also a £6.99 in a standard delivery fee per case, meaning shoppers are paying £2.75 a bottle.
Bakery giant Warburtons have unveiled the first ever beer brewed from crumpets, in a new initiative to fight food waste
Warburtons told Femail the beer may be rolled out of a larger scale if there’s enough consumer demand.
To make the light IPA, Toast Ale replaces some of the malted barley in the beer with crumpets, extracting starches and sugars and breaking them down into fermentable sugars – meaning the crumpet does more than just flavour the beer.
The launch is part of the bakery’s drive to look for innovative ways to grant its leftover food waste a second life.
Darren Littler, Head of Product Innovation at Warburtons, said: ‘We’re thrilled to announce an innovative way of utilising our “wonky” products whilst celebrating the nation’s love of crumpets in a whole new way.
As Warburtons first non-baked product in its 140 plus year history, the light session IPA is made by replacing the malted barley in the beer with crumpets
James King, Marketing and Brand Manager at Toast Ale added: ‘Our mission remains to brew beer that is planet-saving and palate-pleasing, and we couldn’t be more excited to venture into the world of crumpets.’
According to the charity Wrap (Waste and Resources Action Programme), commercial and industrial businesses in the food sector produce around 2.9 million tonnes of food and rink waste a year, with a value of over £5.2 billion.
It’s estimated that 250,000 tonnes of the food that goes to waste each year is still edible, and could provide 650 million meals.