ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, US — EverGrain, a sustainable ingredient company created by AB InBev, has launched a scientific advisory board to investigate the full potential of brewers spent grain (BSG), a byproduct of the beer-brewing process, along with BSG benefits to human health and environmental sustainability. The five scientists on the board will advise and collaborate with the research and development team at EverGrain to accelerate the use of plant-based proteins and fibers sourced from BSGs in nutrient-rich, low-carbon foods and beverages.

“We at EverGrain consider upcycled BSG as one of the most sustainable protein sources on Earth because it delivers high-quality nutrition with a very low carbon impact,” said Steffen Münch, global head of R&D for St. Louis-based EverGrain. “Until now, BSG has gone to animal feed or simply been thrown away. So we are excited and privileged to team up with such talented scientists to increase the health and sustainability impact of this untapped super grain.”

Münch and Harold Schmitz, PhD, senior scholar in the Graduate School of Management at the University of California – Davis, will lead the scientific advisory board.

Board members include:

• Elke Arendt, PhD, a professor in the School of Food and Nutritional Sciences at University College Cork in Ireland who specializes in cereals, malting and brewing science with a focus on gluten-free foods and beverages, starter cultures, functional beverages, rheology, and food structure;
• Christophe Courtin, PhD, a professor of food biochemistry at KU Leuven in Belgium who specializes in the molecular biology of cereal starch, non-starch carbohydrates and dietary fiber, with a focus on the functionality of dietary fibers in human health and applications in other areas of technology;
• Diederik Esser, PhD, a senior researcher at Wageningen University & Research in The Netherlands who specializes in the study of nutrition quality and bio-functional activity of emerging, sustainable protein sources, especially as they relate to the performance of endurance athletes and metabolic systems:
• Thomas Hofmann, PhD, president of the Technical University of Munich who specializes in screening, identifying and quantifying chemical compounds that are naturally occurring and/or formed during processing and can influence the sensory, appearance, and metabolic health impact of foods and beverages;
• Justin Siegel, PhD, associate professor of chemistry, biochemistry and molecular medicine at UC – Davis who specializes in understanding proteins and designing enzymes for diverse applications spanning many sectors, including the food and beverage industry.

The brewing industry generates 9 million tonnes of spent barley grains a year.

“Being an ingredient company within one of the world’s largest brewing companies gives us the capability to scale production of upcycled barley grain — what we at EverGrain affectionately call ‘saved’ grain — around the globe,” said Gregory Belt, chief executive officer of EverGrain. “Adding some of the world’s best and brightest scientific minds to the process will accelerate our goal of helping to nourish a growing population while overcoming the resource challenges caused by climate change.”