From pint to pasture: brewing climate-friendly beer

The fermentation process that creates every beer releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Like most breweries, Young Henrys previously vented this carbon as waste. 

That changed when they teamed up with researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and drafted an unexpected green ally. 

Algae has the ability to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and convert it into oxygen and solid carbon: making for the perfect pairing.

"It's a win-win for everybody," says Professor Peter Ralph, Director of the UTS Climate Change Cluster (C3). 

"This project is a great example of how we work with industry to understand real problems and co-design solutions with impact.”

The collaboration, which brought together scientists, brewers, and farmers, began nearly seven years ago with a simple question: could carbon emissions from brewing be captured and put to good use?

An ingenious cycle: capturing carbon, creating value

UTS researchers designed a small reactor that captured carbon emissions from Young Henrys' fermentation process and pumped it into bioreactors where algae grew. 

"Algae naturally converts carbon dioxide into oxygen through photosynthesis," explains Professor Ralph, who leads the project team.

"It's an elegant, low-tech way to remove carbon from beer production."

The researchers then realised that the algae – rich in protein – could be blended with brewer’s spent grain, a byproduct of beer brewing often fed to livestock.

This blend then makes for nutritious animal feed.

But that sparked a new line of inquiry: could this algae-enriched feed reduce methane emissions from livestock? 

"We started looking at different microalgae species and their effect on reducing methane," Professor Ralph says. 

The team conducted in-vitro tests to measure methane production from various algae strains. These findings informed a series of lamb feeding trials, with promising results. 

Lambs fed the algae-rich diet produced less methane and, in blind taste tests, their meat was actually preferred by consumers. 

"It was an unexpected bonus," Professor Ralph says. "Not only did the algae reduce methane emissions, but it enhanced the flavour and nutritional value of the meat."

The success of the early trials attracted further investment.

Funding from Meat and Livestock Australia supported continued livestock trials over the past few years.

Now, an Australia's Economic Accelerator Ignite grant is helping the team scale their work through high-throughput algae screening.