Biofuel Brings New Meaning to Beer  

If the world ever needed an excuse to buy more beer, this is it! Thanks to the bright minds at New Zealand’s DB Export, beer has now been transformed into an innovative new biofuel. Aptly named “Brewtroleum,” the blend is the world’s first ever fuel produced from used yeast. And to make the blend even more appealing, DB Export maintains that it emits 8% less carbon than gasoline.

The company created the ethanol used to make the ‘green’ gas with leftover grain and yeast derived from the brewing process. It boasts that Brewtroleum is the “world’s first commercially available biofuel” derived from beer and it’s absolutely right! For years scientists have been attempting to develop a suds-based fuel but have come up empty handed. Now, it turns out that a New Zealand based beer group has beat them to it.

Refreshing AND eco-friendly

The key benefits of waste fermentation include a significant drop in greenhouse gas emissions and enhanced eco-friendly credentials. This is largely due to the fact that the process uses existing waste as opposed to purpose grown matter that requires resources such as fertiliser, water and human labour.

Sean O’Donnell, head of domestic beer marketing at DB Export says, “If you were to fuel your car with biofuel over a year it would be over 250 tonnes of carbon emission you would be saving.”

NZ goes wild for beer biofuel

When Brewtroleum hit the bowsers, drivers across Auckland were lining up to get a slice of the famous brew juice. To celebrate DB Export was offering drivers a free $50 fill up voucher than no doubt contributed to the sudden popularity. In fact, the blend has been such a hit that the company is expecting supplies to run dry within six weeks.  

So will Brewtroleum take off and see the world embark on a beer fuelled eco-friendly revolution? Apparently there are already plans to brew up more of the yeast fuel in the future which means that if anything, Kiwis now have a great excuse to raise a glass!

O’Donnell revealed that the concept had been six months in the making. “Our brewers at DB Export were talking about what we can do with the waste, and one of them said we could make a biofuel,” he said. “This is a genuinely exciting opportunity. It’s a world-first, we’re helping Kiwis save the world by doing what they enjoy best—drinking beer.”

The biofuel insurgency has gone hand in hand with a series of new regulations and industry guidelines. ‘Fit for Biofuels and Blends’ looks at some of the instruments manufacturers can use to ensure they meet regulatory specifications and standards evolving around the new applications.