A new collaboration between a Minneapolis, Minnesota bagel shop and a local brewery looks to raise awareness for food waste and hunger. Rise Bagel Co. is teaming up with Modist Brewing to make beer out of its bagels.
Modist has collected nearly 150 pounds of bagels unsold at the bakery to be ground into a flour, which forms the malt bill for a beer called “No Bagel Wasted.” The beer is infused with White Clover honey for a sweet and lightly toasted finish.
The collaboration came about when the Rise team learned about a Northern California distillery making whiskey out of bagels. They approached nearby Modist and brainstormed a concept that would taste great, ultimately deciding on a lager.
“We discussed everything from the Polish origin of the bagel to our most popular bagel flavors,” says Rise co-founder and bagel master Kate Lloyd. “We played with the idea of infusing rosemary, one of our top sellers. We considered a toasted porter, which would play into the natural, toasted flavors of the baked bagel seeds.”
The lager features the essence of every classic Rise bagel flavor: Plain, Salt, Poppy, Sesame, Rosemary, Whole Wheat, Onion, Everything, and Whole Wheat Everything.
No Bagel Wasted will go on tap at Modist Brewing beginning Friday, January 26. 10 percent of proceeds from the beer’s sales will go to the all-volunteer organization Twin Cities Food Justice, which works to reduce food waste and hunger in the area.