Crumbs Brewing

Crumbs Brewing – great tasting beer, bread differently

OUR STORY

We make beer using left over artisan bread from Chalk Hills Bakery in Reigate. Each beer is made with a different type of loaf, that way the style of the beer reflects the character of the delicious bread that makes it. We’re fighting food waste and making tasty, unique beers at the same time.

44% of all bread made in the UK never gets eaten. That’s such a waste. At Crumbs Brewing we are doing our bit to address this growing problem by making our beers from bread that would otherwise not be sold. That’s right, we make beer out of leftover bread. But we don’t just use any old loaves in our brews. We use leftover loaves from our local bakery (and fellow Surrey Hills member) Chalk Hills, in Reigate. Their bread is delicious, handmade artisan bread so our beers have to do it justice. Each of our brews uses a different leftover loaf in its recipe. That way the style and flavours of the loaf are reflected in the taste of the beer. From our light, zesty sourdough pale ale to our dark mysterious rye ruby ale, the beers don’t only do good but also taste great. We’ve not been brewing long but have already saved well over three tonnes of Chalk Hills delicious bread from being wasted. And our plans don’t stop at just bread, our latest brew also uses leftover coffee grounds from the bakery café to make a delicious Rye Coffee Porter. Crumbs Brewing – great beer, bread differently.

 

Story behind the brand

Crumbs Brewing was founded by Reigate locals Morgan and Elaine Arnell in 2017 in collaboration with Chalk Hills Bakery, whose lovingly crafted artisan loaves would become the basis for lovingly crafted artisan beers. Once Morgan started researching, he discovered that bread and beer have been intrinsically linked for thousands of years. There is evidence of pre Egyptian cultures using loaves to brew. After months of development, using the skills of the a Surrey based food research centre, Campden BRI, and a team at Goddards Brewery, Morgan worked out some of the complexities of brewing with bread. Crumbs launched their first brew in June 2017 – the Bloomin’ Amber Lager. Brewed using Surrey Bloomer loaves, it’s smooth and easy drinking with the bread contributing a rich maltiness that pleases lager and ale drinkers alike. Crumbs Brewing spent the rest of 2017 popping up at food festivals and being featured in local media – their bready brew had become the talk of Reigate. A successful crowdfunding campaign followed, which allowed them to expand their enterprise to create two more brews: the light and zesty Sourdough Pale and the dark and mysterious Rye Ruby. November 2018 saw Crumbs extend the idea of repurposing even further. Crumbs Rye Coffee Porter not only uses unsold Rye Bread but also uses leftover coffee grounds from the bakery café in the brew. The rich chocolatey flavours of the coffee worked so well with the spices in the Rye bread that it’s had rave reviews from several national beer writers. Hopefully it’s a future award winner. The four beers are wonderfully unique and cover the whole spectrum of light to dark. Each reflects the taste of the artisan bread which unites them as much as it differentiates them. Each beer is pleasingly accessible – these are beers that have been crafted to be enjoyed.

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Crumbs Brewing
Reigate Surrey RH27HD
Tel: 07801045864
morgan@crumbsbrewing.co.uk