The Finnish city of Lahti was named the European Green Capital 2021, and with good reason. To celebrate with a beer that really contributed to their “wasteless circular economy” credentials, the city collaborated with the local microbrewery, Ant Brew, to create a beer using goose droppings in a series of new beers called Wasted Potential.
The small brewery understood the wasted potential in their city: “The goose droppings are gathered from local parks, where geese are causing a messy problem. Now, the local parks get cleaner and the special edition summer beverages are perfect for a picnic in the park-a true two birds with one stone type of solution.”
Before this interesting beer that uses goose droppings in a food-safe way –smoking the malt to create a unique stout– is released, others in the series with more “common” ingredients, such as wild herbs and food waste (orange peels from a local market’s juice pressing station, and fruit purees that have exceeded their best-before date) will be available first.
“This series of beers is our way to create important discussions about food waste, utilisation of waste, urban farming, and local and wild food among beer enthusiasts. Working with the Lahti Green Capital has been great. We are constantly developing ways to utilise new ingredients in brewing and are not afraid to think outside of the box,” said Ant Brew’s Kari Puttonen.
“Our environment and circular economy are important for us, and we want to discuss these topics in interesting ways. Together we can create solutions that are eco-friendly and represent sustainable consumption,” said Saara Piispanen, Head of Communications of Lahti European Green Capital.
