Did you know that beer goes off? With thousands of pubs shuttered across the country, brewers are being forced to ditch around 25 million schooners worth of unwanted beer straight down the sink.
“It’s a scary amount when you see it stacked up on the pallet – it’s a lot of beer,” local publican Sam Ferguson told 7News.
“We’re fortunate enough to be a small venue but there’s of lot of big venues out there that are tossing a lot of beer down the drain.”
Brewers say they have been unable to find much use for the amber fluid – even offering it to farmers to add to their cattle feed (for what we assume would be some very happy cows).
Lion Australia says it is emptying 90,000 kegs – around 4.5 million litres – at onside wastewater treatment plants where the unwanted brew can be used to make biogas – which funnily enough, can be used to make (you guessed it) more beer.
Carlton & United Breweries – owner of VB, Carlton Draught and Corona – has given thousands of two-litre glass containers to pubs to help them to sell takeaway beer – but there’s still more of the pale ale.
There is one upside to this travesty however – brewers say the next frothie you down at your local is guaranteed to be fresh.
“I think all Australians love going to the pub and sharing a beer with their mates and this will just really promote clean, fresh beer,” Lion Australia’s Rob Higgins said.
We’ll drink to that.
