A Beer with a Cause: How Toast Ale Turns Bread Waste into Craft Beer

Dear Reader,

I am here with yet another brand story for you.

It starts with a slice. Then another. Then, millions more.

Nearly half of all bread produced in the UK is never eaten. It’s wasted leftovers from bakeries, surplus from supermarkets, forgotten loaves in kitchen cupboards.

But what if waste wasn’t the end of the story? What if it was just the beginning?

That’s exactly what Toast Brewing set out to prove. 

They saw an untapped opportunity in something most people overlook: turning surplus bread into craft beer.

A Beer with Purpose

When Toast Ale launched in 2016, their mission was clear: rescue bread, reduce waste, and craft a damn good beer while doing it. They weren’t reinventing the wheel; ancient civilisations brewed beer with bread thousands of years ago. But they were the first to bring it into the modern sustainability movement.

By replacing one-third of the malted barley in beer with surplus bread, they cut down on agricultural land use, water waste, and carbon emissions while creating a beer that’s earned global recognition.

Since then, they’ve saved 3.3 million slices of bread, a stack nearly five times the height of Mount Everest. But for Toast, this isn’t just about numbers. It’s about changing how we think about food waste and proving that sustainability can be delicious.

100% Profits, 100% Impact

Most companies talk about purpose. Toast backs it up. Instead of chasing profits for shareholders, they’ve taken a bold step: 100% of their distributable profits go to charities tackling food waste and environmental issues. Every. Single. Penny.

So far, they’ve donated over £116,000 to organisations fighting for a better food system, sustainable agriculture, and climate action. It’s not a marketing gimmick; it’s their business model.

A Lighter Carbon Footprint, One Pint at a Time

Brewing beer takes resources. But Toast Ale proves that every choice, from ingredients to packaging, matters. And the numbers don’t lie:

• 150 tCO2e: Their total emissions (Scope 1, 2, and 3)

• 5.3 tCO2e avoided: Thanks to surplus bread replacing barley

• 65% lower carbon footprint: A can versus a bottle

• 80% lower carbon footprint: A pint from a keg versus a bottle

The message is simple: choose cans and kegs, not bottles.

More Than Beer

Toast Ale's mission extends beyond brewing, pushing for systemic transformation. That’s why they advocate for policies like the Climate & Nature Bill and the Better Business Act, driving shifts that go beyond their own impact.

And they’re not gatekeeping their success. Their open-source recipe, downloaded over 50,000 times, invites breweries worldwide to join the fight against food waste. Because the end goal isn’t just selling more beer; it’s eliminating bread waste altogether.

Raise a Toast to the Future

The best way to change the world? Throw a better party than the people destroying it. And Toast Ale is doing exactly that. They’ve proven that sustainability doesn’t have to be serious; it can be fun, flavorful, and fueled by great beer.

So next time you crack open a cold one, make it a Toast. To sustainability. To innovation.

To a future where no loaf, no opportunity, goes to waste.

Cheers!

Akanksha