Review of the valorization initiatives of brewing and distilling by-products

Abstract

Beer and spirits are two of the most consumed alcoholic beverages in the world, and their production generates enormous amounts of by-product materials. This ranges from spent grain, spent yeast, spent kieselguhr, trub, carbon dioxide, pot ale, and distilled gin spent botanicals. The present circular economy dynamics and increased awareness on resource use for enhanced sustainable production practices have driven changes and innovations in the management practices and utilization of these by-products. These include food product development, functional food applications, biotechnological applications, and bioactive compounds extraction. As a result, the brewing and distilling sector of the food and drinks industry is beginning to see a shift from conventional uses of by-products such as animal feed to more innovative applications. This review paper therefore explored some of these valorization initiatives and the current state of the art.

Keywords:

• Brewing
• distilling
• by-products
• valorization
• sustainability

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM), Ireland under the grant number 2019R563