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World’s Largest Beer Company Anheuser-Busch InBev to Upcycle Spent Grains for Alt Protein 

Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest beer maker and parent company of Budweiser, has doubled down on its commitment to recycling barley protein from its brewing process that can be used in plant-based products. 

“We are the largest buyer and fermenter of malt globally”

In a new interview with Yahoo! Finance, Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Michel Doukeris explains the latest on the venture, including millions of dollars in new investment to repurpose the protein for the plant-based sector. 

Take Two
©Take Two

Doukeris details how through biotech technology, the company is able to separate fiber and protein, creating a high-quality end product without carbohydrates and a low carbon footprint. EverGrain, an Anheuser-Busch InBev company, has begun work on a $100 million protein in St. Louis, Missouri, and a second such facility will also be opened in Belgium. 

Upcycled barley grains

One use for the upcycled barley grains is in the rapidly growing plant-based milk sector, with Portland-based company Take Two already upcycling at least 500,000 pounds of spent grain this year. Take Two is a wholly-owned subsidiary of EverGrain and recently added its Barista Barley Milk to the product line. 

“We are the largest buyer and fermenter of malt globally,” commented Doukeris. “Up until a few years ago, what we did was take this barley malt, ferment, and produce beer. In the fermentation process, the yeast takes all the starch or the carbohydrates from the barley and leaves the grain that is very rich in protein and fibers.” 

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