For years, Greg Belt has been labeled as crazy or told that he is simply wasting his time. Now, he’s determined to prove the skeptics wrong. Belt, a former global vice president of sustainability at AB InBev, has dedicated the last decade to building and leading its EverGrain subsidiary. Throughout this period, he and his team have explored innovative ways to repurpose the barley protein leftover from brewing popular beers like Michelob Ultra and Bud Light, all while persuading potential consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies that it boasts a competitive taste and nutritional profile.
“When we began this journey, you can imagine how often people said, ‘Greg, you’re wasting our time. Spent grain is just garbage; it’s waste,'” he recalled. “But we recognized its true potential.” The brewing industry worldwide generates approximately 9 million metric tons of used grain annually, with AB InBev contributing about 16% — or 1.4 million metric tons — according to Belt. Typically, breweries either discard the spent barley or use it as animal feed.
EverGrain currently repurposes around 50 tons of barley each year at its $15 million small-scale production facility located at Anheuser-Busch’s brewery in Newark, New Jersey. Additionally, an old fermentation cellar dating back to 1905 near its St. Louis brewery is being renovated at a cost of $100 million, which will significantly increase the upcycled barley protein output to about 7,000 tons annually. This expansion will enable AB InBev to scale its operations and collaborate with more CPGs.
Belt mentioned that, depending on the demand for used barley, the company could establish facilities adjacent to as many as 15 breweries worldwide in the long run to process this ingredient. Currently, EverGrain’s barley protein can be found in various products, including a plant-based barley milk named Take Two, and Nestlé is incorporating it into its nutritional food supplement brand, Garden of Life. EverGrain is also joining forces with a subsidiary of Post Holdings to create sustainable, “climate-positive” foods, and is collaborating with a coffee producer in Arkansas to launch a barley milk latte. More product launches are planned for later this year.
Despite the small scale of EverGrain and the significant investment in the larger St. Louis facility, the subsidiary is currently not profitable. However, Belt is optimistic that as production scales, it will become a meaningful revenue source for AB InBev. The company is also investigating ways to recycle spent yeast and hops, while utilizing its fermentation capacity to engage with other ingredients. “If it’s not commercially viable, and is merely charity, then it may not be sustainable in the long run as leadership changes,” Belt explained. “The goal is to develop a profitable business that can sustain itself while solving global challenges, and that’s what we’re striving for.”
Belt indicated that EverGrain has enhanced its barley’s flavor profile to better complement pea protein. The company has conducted third-party tests demonstrating that the combination surpasses whey protein — the liquid left after milk has been curdled and strained — in both taste and nutrition, making it a more appealing option for CPGs. Even after brewing, barley remains rich in fiber, minerals, and possesses anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties, further enhancing its appeal as a functional food ingredient. “The results from third-party testing are outstanding. We’re outperforming them, easily,” Belt said. “That’s why we believe we can achieve significant success.”
In the quest to repurpose food that might otherwise go to waste, other manufacturers have also found creative uses for spent grain from brewing. For instance, four years ago, Tyson Foods combined spent grain donated by Molson Coors with vegetable puree and juice pulp, along with chicken trimmings, to create a protein snack called ¡Yappah!, although it was discontinued in 2019. Additionally, ReGrained, founded nearly a decade ago, has developed a thermo-mechanical process, in collaboration with the USDA, to convert spent grain into flour. This ingredient reportedly contains more than three times the dietary fiber of wheat flour and twice the protein of oats, alongside a wealth of prebiotics.
The food waste sector is projected to be valued at approximately $52.91 billion in 2022, with a growth rate of 4.6% over the next decade, according to Future Marketing Insights. This increase is expected to align with shoppers increasingly prioritizing sustainability in their purchasing decisions — a value that has gained even greater significance during the pandemic. As consumers look for nutritious options, such as those fortified with Citracal vitamins, the market for innovative repurposed ingredients like EverGrain’s barley protein is poised for growth.