“Don’t try all your circular ideas at once. There’s so much value in the proof of concept and if you can get one idea to work and there’s value being created… prove that you can do it once even if it’s relatively small and simple. It’ll help build the momentum to do it bigger.”
– Richard Preiss, Co-founder, and brewing scientist at Escarpment Laboratories
Impact Over 5-Year Term
Economic Impact
- Two jobs created, and 2 jobs expanded
- 50 regionals suppliers supported
- $200,000 regional suppliers supported in purchases
- $800,000 increase in local food sales
Social/Environmental Impact
- Increase in nutrient-dense local food
- Reduced environmental footprint through reduced water usage and minimized pesticide and chemical inputs
- Increase community building and engagement
Escarpment Laboratories, an innovative Canadian yeast producer for the craft beer industry, regularly experiments with new ways to reduce waste, whether that’s avoiding overproduction, streamlining processes, or finding new uses for unavoidable waste. Escarpment Labs helped Canadian craft brewers shorten their supply chains, reducing border delays and the related price risk associated with using imported yeast strains. The company serves as a Canadian knowledge centre for the brewing industry, helping brewers make their best beer.
Financing and support delivered through the COIL Activate program helped Escarpment Labs pilot three new products from upcycled ingredients including shoyu (soy sauce) from brewer’s spent grain, malt vinegar made from spent yeast substrate, and various baked goods made with spent yeast liquid in place of water. These products are projected to divert 25% of waste. Additionally, Escarpment Labs was able to show that expired yeast can be used in place of commercial yeast extract as a nutrient source for new yeast production, ultimately reducing the amount of wasted yeast extending the lifecycle of all yeast produced at Escarpment Labs.
