From Bread to Beer - Rescuing Leftover Bread From Landfill

Would you be surprised to know that by opting for a beer made from excess bread, you could be protecting the planet just as you unwind with a refreshing beverage? This is the concept behind Alaric HUI, our alumnus of Master of Science in Environmental Management. His Bread-to-Beer project innovatively adopts the circular economy model to upcycle surplus bread by brewing them into beer. This waste management project saves these baked goods from ending up in landfills.

Upcycling the under-valued staple

While pursuing his Master’s degree in Environmental Management at HKU, Alaric and his teammate Tiffany opted to conduct a research project, using it as an opportunity to apply their classroom-learnt theories to real life.

After months of brainstorming, an idea finally clicked as he was reminded of this food waste problem from his days working at Cathay Pacific Catering Services (CPCS). As a waste-conscious person and a beer lover himself, Alaric was then inspired by a UK brewing company’s upcycling solution, which dawned on him to actualise the Bread-to-Beer idea in Hong Kong’s market.

From idea to implementation

The duo invested hours into conducting background research. They even stood outside numerous small and chain bakeries at the end of the working day, and carried the to-be-discarded bread back home to be counted and made their own statistical estimates.

Though, the biggest challenge was yet to come. They struggled to convince breweries to help produce a prototype batch without any tangible proof of their idea. Finally, they tried their luck by reaching out to their instructor of the home-brewing course they signed up together earlier.  Little did they know that the instructor was actually the founder of hEROES Beer Co., a locally renowned craft brewery. ‘Funny enough, without any hesitation, he just said yes. Fast forward to a month and a half later, the beer was successfully made, and he sent me 12 bottles of it,’ laughed Alaric at his lucky chance encounter.

Collaboratively produced by Cathay Pacific Catering Services and hEROES Beer Co., the VHHX beer was named as a tribute to the old Kai Tak airport, where VHHX stands for the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) airport code.

 

Creating a more sustainable society

Consolidating his idea into a practically-applicable proposal using insights gained from the MSc programme, he successfully persuaded his then employer CPCS to give the green light to implement his project. This gave birth to the VHHX Vienna Lager, completing his own circular journey of giving back to the place from where he got his inspiration.

After thanking his supervisor Dr Janet CHAN of the School of Biological Sciences, Alaric wished to impart the essence of being altruistic to future students. ‘Think about how a project can benefit society, not only you. Because you will already benefit a lot from the process of doing the project itself,’ he emphasised. ‘I think the outcome of what you and your teammates have done can go beyond what you initially imagined,’ he reiterated as he looks forward to branching out into the industry on the back of this triumphant pilot project.

 

‘I realised that there was a great impact created by human activities on our surroundings, especially problems like pollution and waste that are prevalent in Hong Kong. Learning this triggered me to want to do something focused on this area,

 

Alaric Shun Yuen HUI

• Co-founder of VHHX Vienna Lager
• 2018 - 2020 Master of Science in Environmental Management, The University of Hong Kong