Brewbee plant-based meat made from beer waste – tastes better than it sounds
2.10.2024
Translation: Eva Francis
A meat substitute made from raw materials that would usually be thrown away? Brewbee promises the perfect cycle. But do minced and sliced meat made from beer waste taste good, too?
The Locher brewery in Appenzell is like the Gallic village of Asterix and Obelix. With Quöllfrisch, the family-owned brewery’s competing with big beer brand such as Carlsberg (Feldschlösschen) and Heineken (Eichhof, Calanda). On top of that, Locher also produces whisky and vinegar –
and has now launched a new product.
Brewbee’s the name of their line of plant-based food products made from waste materials from beer production. This includes crisps in various flavours, ready-made frozen pizzas and two meat substitute products, «Ghackets» (minced meat) and «Gschnetzlets» (sliced meat). I’ve tested their sliced meat for a few weeks now.
Looks like cardboard, but does it taste like it?
Brewbee’s meat substitutes fulfil two killer criteria for me: they’re cheap and keep for long. Both the sliced and minced meat comes in dried pieces that I need to cover with hot water and leave to stand. I always add a little stock or soy sauce to give it more flavour. This is also recommended on the packaging.
Source: Simon Balissat
After soaking for five minutes, I can process the Brewbee product like regular meat. I’ve used it to make chili sin carne and gyudon, a Japanese rice dish with onions and soy sauce, for instance. Here’s a good gyudon recipe (in German) with meat.
The Brewbee product’s texture’s actually quite meaty. The first time I tried it, I didn’t soak the sliced meat long enough, so it had too much bite for my taste. I corrected this by cooking it longer in the sauce. After that, there was hardly any difference to well-cooked beef.
Source: Simon Balissat
The Brewbee meat has significantly fewer calories than real meat. 100 grammes of Brewbee (dried) makes about 400 grammes of sliced meat (cooked) and contain 331 calories in total. That’s 150 calories less than lean beef. Of the 100 grammes of Brewbee, almost 55 grammes is protein and 10 grammes are carbohydrates. The meat substitute has just 5 grammes of fat.
I initially ordered 100 gramme packs to try it out. I’d recommend that. Who knows, you might not like it as much as I do.
If you’re like me, though, you’ll soon get a 1 kg pack. Once I’ve finished this, I can also boast that I’ve saved 25 kilogrammes of CO2 equivalent by avoiding beef.
In a nutshell
Meat substitute without compromises
Brewbee costs less than other meat substitutes, keeps for a long time and tastes as good as I season it. Made from beer production waste, this plant-based meat’s even sustainable. It doesn’t really get any better than this.
Pro
- Keeps for a long time
- Costs less than other meat substitutes
- Can be seasoned well while soaking in water
- Firm to the bite, almost like meat
Contra
- Soaking takes a few minutes
- Quite bland without seasoning
Simon Balissat
Teamleader Editorial
Simon.Balissat@digitecgalaxus.chWhen I flew the family nest over 15 years ago, I suddenly had to cook for myself. But it wasn’t long until this necessity became a virtue. Today, rattling those pots and pans is a fundamental part of my life. I’m a true foodie and devour everything from junk food to star-awarded cuisine. Literally. I eat way too fast.
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