The world’s first powdered beer was invented by German monks
Klosterbrauerei Neuzelle, a brewery located in a monastery, introduces an innovative beer in powder form
Seems like the monks in East Germany are concerned not only with spiritual matters, but very real matters of the laic world – such as the ease-of-use of their produced beer. As a result, a monastic brewery claims to have created the very first powdered beer.
The makers of the beer promise that it tastes like the real thing, you simply have to add water to the mixture and it will froth up. While that sounds intriguing and slightly unconventional, one may naturally wonder – why would you ever consider making powdered beer?
As most things in life, the answer lies in transportation costs. If shipped in powdered format, the same amount of glasses in dry beer format could be shipped at 10% of the weight of their liquid counterparts.
The authors of the product – Klosterbrauerei Neuzelle – collaborated with scientists and attracted external funding from BMW i to create its first powdered product, a dextrin-rich zero-alcohol beer. While the true beer lovers may be smug, it is important to note that the real novelty lies not in the final product, but in the conversion process that enabled transforming the initial liquid beer into a powdered substance.
This means that the beer has been brewed using conventional methods and only then processed and prepared into a water-soluble beer powder/granulate. Until mid-2023, the product is still in its test stage, however, if the results seem satisfactory, the beer makers will shift gears towards full-scale production that may include alcoholic beverages.
