Toast Ale x Craft Academy

We met the guys at Craft Academy while we were at Craft Beer Rising earlier this year. We were super impressed by their beers and branding, and when we got chatting, we fell in love with their story. Craft Academy gives young people the chance to get involved with the beer industry, by giving them a place to learn more about the process of brewing. This can prevent young people from going into unemployment, while learning skills that ensures the future of good beer. What’s not to love about a beer apprenticeship!

So we were super happy to collaborate with them on a new beer – a 5.5% New England India Pale Ale called ‘Crust Academy’ – brewed with fresh surplus bread sourced from local Blackbird Bakery. It was also the perfect opportunity for two of Toast’s interns to experience brewing first hand, with the students at Craft Academy becoming teachers for the day. They got stuck in, preparing the bread and mashing in with the malts, and working out ingredient ratios with the Craft Academy team. Toaster Lauren’s highlight of the day? Tasting the ‘brewers breakfast’.

We loved chatting about bread and why there’s so much surplus produced, while sampling a few slices of the delicious loaves with lunch. The afternoon finished with a sampling of some of Craft Academy’s existing beers – a pretty awesome finish to a day of hard work.

We’ll be launching Crust Academy on 23rd August at the brewery in Herne Hill, based in the Florence Pub. For a free pint, register on Eventbrite. We’ll also have our Born and Bread American Pale Ale on tap.

Proceeds will go to Feedback, our partner charity that campaigns for a fairer food system.