Hospitality Business Magazine

Beer by-product turned into biofuel 

PrintDB Export has announced it is on a mission to harness the power of drinking beer to save the world. In a New Zealand first, DB Export is attempting to make the country’s first ever commercially viable biofuel from the by-products of brewing beer. By creating this biofuel, which emits less carbon than petrol, Kiwi’s can save the world by doing what they do best – drinking beer.

“DB Export Brewtroleum”, will be made using ethanol derived from beer by-product which will be mixed with normal petroleum to create Brewtroleum by July 2015. That means every time someone drinks DB Export they’re helping to create an environmentally friendly Biofuel that can be used in any combustion engine that runs on petrol.

Research and testing by DB Export and independent experts found that ethanol could be stripped from the yeast slurry of the brewing process and distilled to produce high-grade bioethanol created by blending 10% ethanol and 90% premium 98 octane petrol.

Bioethanol created from a by-product of dairy production is already available in select outlets around New Zealand and the world, and is proven to be more environmentally-friendly than normal petrol. Now DB Export has joined the crusade and the first sample of bioethanol will be ready for testing in a few weeks.

Head of Domestic Beer Marketing, Sean O’Donnell said, “Brewtroleum was an idea sparked over a few beers, which presented the opportunity to take the natural by-product of the brewing process and turn it into something that can genuinely help the environment. What’s more, men can help to save the world just by doing what they already love – drinking DB Export.”

O’Donnell adds that New Zealanders have been coming up with “ideas over beers” for years and DB Export Brewtroleum is an example of one of these clever ideas.

“The Brewtroleum experiment is a way for DB Export to continue the legacy of its founder, Morton Coutts, an entrepreneur and “ideas man”.  Coutts was renowned for not just having smart ideas, but “doing the doing” and turning them into reality. From inventing a full-functioning x-ray machine at the age of 12, to creating a world-first brewing process, Coutts is the epitome of the “Kiwi doer”. 

Following the first sample, the next step will be demonstrating Brewtroleum works via a live pilot, which then will lead to an ambitious world first: making Brewtroleum the first commercially-viable biofuel made from beer. If successful, DB Export Brewtroleum will be made available through one of the country’s major fuel retailers, meaning all Kiwis can get involved.