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Sometimes, as editors, you stumble upon news that raises an eyebrow. That one odd innovation, an unexpected effect of climate change or a feat of human clumsiness. Remarkable, in other words. This week: beer made from treated wastewater.
The treated water in all stages, with the final product on the right | Credit:
Fair is fair: drinking sewage sounds anything but fresh. Yet indirectly, we already do this on a large scale. The wastewater leaving our homes enters the sewers and is then cleaned by treatment plants. It is then discharged into surface water, becoming part of the natural water cycle. Thanks to water suppliers, the purified water eventually simply flows out of our taps again.
In
Pollutants
Called "Reuse-Brew," the beer is made from wastewater that has been thoroughly cleaned in four stages. "I can assure you that after the cleaning there is nothing from the sewage in the water," an employee of
'Skunky hops'
For those curious about the beer's taste: on review website Untappd, Reuse-Brew gets about three out of five stars. "Not bad for treated wastewater!" reads one of the reviews. 'A typical, light European lager similar to Heineken in flavor profile, slightly bitter with a hint of skunky hops and grassy notes.'
Tasting
The beer is currently not yet commercially available. However, it can be tasted at various (German) trade fairs.
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