Toasting success with beer made from waste

Wishbone Brewery has made the brew from unsold bread to mark the last event of the year by the River Worth Friends.

The beer, entitled River of Worth, will be launched on Saturday November 9 when the Friends carry out a litter-pick along the riverbank.

The brewery is a strong supporter of the Friends because the waterway flows near its premises in Dalton Lane.

Wishbone boss Adrian Chapman created a beer in April this year, entitled River Worth friends, to promote the group’s work. The latest brew celebrates the Friends’ success through the year.

The Friends are supported by the Keighley Big Local regeneration group, which supports neighbourhoods along the lower River Worth.

Greg Ellis, a member of the Big Local partnership board and a Coop store manager, collected 25 kg of waste bread from local Coop stores for the beer.

He and residents spent two hours toasting the bread.

Mr Chapman said: “We set a recipe set on our Brew-plan for a very British Brown Ale at 4.6%.  We built in some toasted, roasted, caramel and malt notes in our recipe design to compliment toast flavours we get from the bread.”

Local people suggested names of the beer, including Raise a Toast, Know Your Worth, Mayfly and Use Your Loaf.

River Worth Friends are inviting local people to join them to pick up litter from noon to 4pm.

One group, led by the Rivers Trust and Be The Change Events, will start at Woodhouse Road and walk towards Wishbone Brewery. Another group will begin at Worth Bridge Road and include members of Bradford & Bingley Canoe Club and the JBA Trust. 

At the brewery, between 2pm and 4pm, local retiree John Tickner will display photographs he has taken along the River Worth. Resident Phil Sheridan, a keen fly-fisher, will talk about the river and its biodiversity, and the Aire Rivers Trust and JBA Trust will talk about various projects.

The River Worth friends plan five days of practical activity, talks and leisure learning in 2020.