Re-thinking food waste: crafting blonde beers out of excess bread

David Garcia has had its own bread bakery for eight years, and after seeing how much food was wasted, he decided to make his own blonde beer. 

Based in Tona, in the county of Osona in central Catalonia, David has had a passion for craft beer for years, which he has been able to merge with his job as a bread maker. 

David had been giving away the surplus bread to farmers in the area to avoid throwing away the food waste, but he thought there was more that could be done. 

"If bread is made from wheat, why can't we make beer out of bread?" García asked himself. That is how in 2021 he began to make what is now 'La Panarra', his own blonde beer. 

During his research, García discovered that people in the United Kingdom had already created a similar product. After much trial and error, this year he has been able to create two batches, one of 300 bottles and the other 400 bottles of his craft beer.  

David describes his beer as "a light blonde, not bitter -despite being artisanal- with a taste of bread crust and aromas of peach and ripe fruit." It is made with 36% of dry bread and has an alcohol content of 5.4%. 

So far, he has received good reviews from customers. 

However, he is committed to not baking excess bread just to produce more beer: "Only when there is a surplus will we make drinks." 

"Hopefully one day I will be asking other bakeries for their surplus bread to make more of my blonde beer!" David concludes. 

The beer can be found in David's own bakery and in other shops in Tona.