‘Waste not, want not’: Stroud Brewery has found an interesting way of applying this well known phrase which is keeping some pigs, and their owners, happy at the same time! Stroud Brewery takes a sustainable approach to waste management and is now supplying some of its spent malt to Thrupp Community Pig Club to feed its pigs. The used malt is a brewing by-product which also provides nutritious feed for the animals and a way for Stroud Brewery to reduce its waste and continue its community involvement.
Located just off of London Road in Thrupp, Charlea Gardens is home to three Gloucester Old Spot pigs. As piglets, they were bought by the Thrupp Community Pig Club from a local farmer and taken to their new secure and spacious paddock. They are looked after for roughly six months by eight families who have purchased either a quarter or a half of a pig and share care duties. This involves feeding the pigs and topping up their mud bath twice a day. It's an opportunity for families to keep and look after the animals which will later provide them with a plentiful supply of pork products later in the year.
Making sure the pigs are well fed and healthy is very important to their owners which is why their diet consists of ‘pig nuts’ (feed containing the essential vitamins they require), an assortment of fruit and vegetables plus Stroud Brewery’s spent malt (the grain once all the malt sugars have been removed for brewing). For the pigs, the used malt is a source of fibre and protein. For the owners it is a helpful way for them to manage the costs that come with purchasing pig nuts.
“The malt helps us supplement their diet, meaning we need to buy less pig food, keeping the costs down” said Liz Gibson, organiser of the Thrupp Community Pig Project.
For Stroud Brewery, it's a satisfying way to manage some of its waste. Greg Pilley, Founder and MD of the Brewery explained the project from Stroud Brewery’s perspective:
"Malt's an essential ingredient in beer making so there's a lot of spent malt at the end of brewing. But this still contains a lot of nutrients and goodness, so we don’t want it to go to waste. Fortunately, there ‘s little risk of that as there are many local farmers who want it to feed their livestock. However, it's great being able to donate some of it to help a community project just up the road from the brewery, and enable people to take part in their local food cycle. This is just one of a number of ways that breweries ‘recycle’ their spent malt”
All of Stroud Brewery’s malt is repurposed, it’s either given to local farmers for their livestock or to the hungry Thrupp pigs, this is all part of the Brewery’s sustainable way to manage its waste.
The green area adjacent to Charlea Gardens in which the pigs spacious 0.4 acre paddock sits is of much community value too. After the successful acquisition of the land with the help of several grants and a crowdfunding scheme, there are now plans to transform it into a community hub, with a natural play area and shared farming space. Picture being sat in the new space, enjoying a Stroud Brewery beer, knowing that the used malt from the beer you're drinking helps feed the pigs you can see, which in turn helps feed their owners: the beer to bacon cycle!
