Plzeňský Prazdroj: From Brewery to Bakery

Depending on how long you’ve been living in Prague, you would be by now familiar with the beer brand Pilsner.

Plzeňský Prazdroj alongside bakers produced a test series of wheat biscuits, from the malt used in beer production. They come in sweet and salty variants and the aim was to try, from the waste materials to produce a full and healthier version of the usual biscuits. According to the breweries’ spokesman Jitka Němečková, the company does not yet plan to produce in bulk.

The wheat biscuits are produced at the Biopekárna Zemanka, which has incredible benefits as it absorbs properties of the grass, which is produced from barley malt waste. “Mutton has a higher protein and fibre content and fewer carbohydrates than conventional flours, and it uses several startups in the US to produce special flour and healthy chopsticks,” said Tereza Kamal, responsible for corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities in Plzeňský Prazdroj. The experiment resulted in a sweet biscuit with honey, oat flakes and raisins and a salty flavour that fits the beer.

“We have only a one-shot experiment with the grain but we have been surprised with the result, but it is premature to talk about other plans,” said Kamal. If the brewery, after thorough analysis with the Biopekárna Zemanka, has agreed on standard production and has taken all the necessary steps, the distribution options are different, both direct deliveries to restaurants and cafes, as well as retail sales. It will show the future, she added.

“Our ambition, at least for now, is not the production of bread in a big way. And we will in future have embarked regular production of cookies, we use only small fraction dregs,” she added.

Brewing is defined as solid residues resulting from beer production after filtration of the wort (liquid extracted from the mashing process) – a sweet intermediate containing sugars, proteins, and other substances, but without hops (hops are the flowers of the hop plant. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavoring, and stability agent in beer).

According to Kamal, the decay permanently reduces the environmental impact of the business and is one of the most responsible and eco-friendly breweries. “We recycle or reuse 98.5% of manufacturing waste,” she said.

“Malt, yeast, and malt waste feeds farmers as feed, and sewage sludge is used as a fertilizer. Waste filter contributes to soil mitigation for reclaimed areas. We sort the rest,” she added.