AN awful lot of fruit peeling went into Marble’s latest project – a 3.8 per cent Berliner Weisse style beer, due for its first pour at their iconic Marble Arch pub, Rochdale Road on Friday, May 11.
It’s a remarkable tie-in between the brewery and Manchester-based food waste charity FareShare, whose umbrella operation, Emerge, is celebrating 20 years of championing recycling in the region.
So what better way to toast the anniversary than with a beer made from 500kg of grapefruit and clementines destined for landfill – one more stark example of the way we waste precious ‘past its sell by date’ foodstuffs while millions of folk lack access to healthy, affordable eating.
Marble, with its sustainable ethos, is linking up with Emerge Recycle in several hands-on ways. The beer is the most high profile link. Head brewer Joe Ince and his team did a full 20-keg brew (2,000 cans) with the rescued fruit and 25 pence from each can sold goes to the charity.
The fruit peel can’t be used in the brewing process. Hence the laborious peeling before juicing (done below by lead brewer Slaw Mincikowski).
A Berliner Weisse is a cloudy, sour beer, low in alcohol, that originated in Northern Germany. Contemporary takes on it marry it with fruit and Marble’s effort promises to be a very refreshing, citrussy tipple.
Fairshare will provide the accompanying buffet at the launch, all from rescued food, while the actual cheeseboard will be upcycled from redundant wood from sites around Greater Manchester. It’s the wrk of sister operation, Touch Wood, who are currently handling the auctioning for charity of the replaced wood from the Veldodrome track.
More about Emerge Recycle and its three distinct operations:
FareShare Greater Manchester: Over 5.8 million people in the UK live in deep poverty. At the same time the UK throws away 3.9 million tonnes of good food every year. FareShare distribute food that would otherwise be wasted to charities and community organisations around Greater Manchester. These organisations provide vitally needed meals, food parcels and snacks to hundreds of disadvantaged people every day. Further information can be found here.
Touch Wood: Working with the National Community Wood Recycling Project (NCWRP) Touch Wood collect redundant wood from construction sites and businesses around Manchester. This waste wood is then processed and upcycled by their team members into usable timber, furniture, and homeware products. These are sold to the public and businesses with any profits going back into the charity. Further information can be found here.
Emerge Recycling: A full range of waste recycling and confidential shredding services to Manchester’s businesses and schools. The team promote sustainable resource management by offering free advice, information, and educational services within the wider community. Further information can be found here.