This brewing by-product creates a snack rich in protein and fibre and low in sugar

Spent grain is a nutritious by-product of the brewing industry and a key ingredient in Born Again Bites, a vegan, high-fibre snack handmade in Ireland

Fri, 12 Apr, 2024 - 02:00

Caroline Hennessy

Taking food waste and turning it into something nutritious and delicious is logical on many levels, creating a food product and an upcycling opportunity.

Brewers’ spent grain is a high-potential area currently being explored by several Irish food producers. A by-product of the brewing industry, spent grain primarily consists of the husk of the barley grain, which is rich in protein and fibre and low in sugar. With beer continuing to be Ireland’s favourite alcoholic beverage and the sizable increase in independent Irish microbreweries over the last ten years, plenty of spent grain opportunities are out there. CEOs and co-founders of Born Again Bites, Sunkyung Choi and her husband, Patrick Nagle, have focused on this with their innovative soft snack bites.

Choi, originally from South Korea and a senior manager with a US company specialising in B2B expert network platforms, worked in Shanghai and Hong Kong before moving to Ireland seven years ago.

Like many others during the pandemic, she decided she wanted to do something different with her life, in the food industry. It was already in her DNA: Choi’s father was involved in the restaurant business, organised food events, published a cookbook and wrote a regular column on healthy eating.

“I was heavily influenced by my father,” says Choi. “I love food. I wanted to have my own business and do something related to food.”

CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB

Blazing a trail

A long-distance hiking trip with Nagle — whose background is in hotel and catering management and who also works in his family business supplying commercial hygiene and refrigeration equipment — was the spark for the company.

The couple travelled to Sweden for an epic 440k trek, the King’s Trail (Kungsleden), in August 2021, the path of which crosses the Arctic Circle. It was there that they noticed first-hand the impact that global warming was having on the environment. “After the trip,” says Choi, “I started researching sustainability and discovered that waste in the food chain has a huge impact on climate change.”

Her investigations led her to spent grain, much of which goes to animal feed, and the realisation that she could repurpose it into something nutritious for human consumption.

“It’s a perfect resource and I wanted to do something in the local area.”

With support from Enterprise Ireland’s New Frontiers programme, Choi focused on bringing the idea to reality, giving up her job to go full-time in Born Again Bites in 2022.

CEOs and co-founders of Born Again Bites, Sunkyung Choi and her husband, Patrick Nagle

Based in Walkinstown, Dublin, she works with Rascals Brewing Company in nearby Inchicore. Co-owner of Rascals, Cathal O’Donoghue, lets her know when brewing is happening and they collect the spent grain immediately. “Rascals is the perfect fit for us,” says Nagle. “We can gather it [the spent grain] as it is coming out of the vat so it’s as fresh as can be.”

Spent grain contains a lot of excess moisture, which can lead to spoilage quickly, so speed is essential. Choi gets around any issues by either freezing or starting the drying process immediately: the grain needs to be dehydrated and milled into flour before it can become an ingredient in Born Again Bites. The couple began with a peanut and dark chocolate snack cube.

“The vast majority like it,” says Nagle. “Peanut butter and dark chocolate are an age-old combination, dates add another dynamic, and the flour that we make gives it a unique texture.”

The spent grain flour is 30% of the total ingredients, ensuring the snacks are high in fibre and protein (14.6% and 9.3%, respectively) and that each piece from the 50g pack is unexpectedly filling.

Fuel to go

As a couple who enjoys long-distance hikes — along with the King’s Trail, over the last few years they’ve walked from Bordeaux to Camino de Santiago, the Wicklow Way and the Dingle Way — they’ve found that their product is the ideal snack for fueling long days of walking.

With Born Again Bites, the aim was to create an easy-to-use product that encouraged consumers to participate in the circular food economy.

“We wanted to create something that people could grab off the shelf, with no additives, preservatives, e-numbers, or added protein powder,” says Choi.

The product is also vegan, “accidentally,” laughs Choi, containing no animal products. They plan to add more flavours in the future, including a chocolate orange version and a berry option.

With more attention than ever on food waste, Choi and Nagle have found a way of realising the potential of a waste product and putting it to good use in a way that conserves resources. Ireland has a lot of brewer’s spent grain available; any new product that can upcycle this nutritious yet underused, potential foodstuff is a step towards a more sustainable future. It’s good news for everyone when it’s delicious, too.