BY DARREN WOOD AT DRINKTEC, GERMANY
An interesting story here at Drinktec came from Lightweight Containers, who spoke about the company’s range of KeyKeg packaging. This range of containers was a story which sparked interest from the FoodBev team four years ago, so we caught up with them to find out how the company’s story had progressed.
We found that Lightweight Containers had brought to market the first circular KeyKeg, consisting of approximately 10% used KeyKegs. The company stated that they intended to keep increasing this amount by collecting as many used KeyKegs as possible to reuse for producing new containers.
Clearly, recycling – both of plastic bottles in retail and larger containers like kegs for the on-trade – is a massive issue.
Moving on over to the Alfa Laval stand, the company showed us its de-alcoholisation module, producing non-alcoholic beer below 0.5% ABV. This new machine produced beer in one process with minimum use of utilities; the machine is a streamlined combination of heat exchangers. The module first degassed the beer, returning condensable volatiles back to the beer stream, and removed alcohol using culinary steam flowing upwards in a special stripping column. The alcohol then exits as a vapour, which is condensed and collected.
Furthermore, Glanbia Nutritionals showcased its ingredient capabilities with a water-based, fruit-flavoured protein drink. The protein water, with added vitamins, including B12 and B3, contained 12g of protein per 500ml bottle. In addition to this, the protein water is sugar- and fat-free and is offered in three enjoyable flavours: berry, pomegranate and orange. With no artificial flavours, less than 0.5g of carbohydrates and only 50kcal, it’s an easy way for consumers to top up their protein levels pre-or post-workout, or even as part of a balanced diet.
Unfortunately this is FoodBev’s last day at Drinktec, but this year’s edition really has proved what a valuable asset the show is to both the brewing sector and the wider beverage industry. We’ll see you in 2021!
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