A pioneering beer has been created using 100% fonio grains, marking a significant departure from traditional brewing ingredients like barley and bittering hops.
According to The Drinks Business, fonio, a drought-resistant grain (of the millet family) cultivated in West Africa for over 5,000 years, is featured in this innovative brew, establishing a world-first in brewing technology and ingredient use.
The new brew, simply named Fonio, boasts a 7.5% ABV and is part of Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver’s ‘Brewing for Impact’ campaign. This initiative celebrates Oliver’s 30 years with the brewery and aims to highlight fonio’s untapped potential in brewing while promoting positive changes in the industry.
The limited-edition beer, made entirely from fonio grains sourced from Senegal, is essentially a raw fonio lager that is also gluten-free. Brewed with un-malted fonio and Carlsberg lager yeast, the beer features a clean profile with soft aromas of apricots, white peaches and melon, accompanied by a subtle sweetness and a lingering bitterness that provides a vibrant finish.
The brewing process did not require malting the fonio due to its small size, as Carlsberg’s equipment could handle it directly. Despite the absence of bittering hops, aroma hops like Galaxy and Cascade were used. This project involved overcoming several technical challenges, marking the first instance of a beer brewed entirely from fonio.
Food pairing
In celebration of the launch, Carlsberg partnered with Michelin-starred restaurant Chishuru to create a menu that complements the new beer. It has intrigued many chefs, who appreciate its subtle sake-like notes and the delicate flavour profile that resembles white peach. The beer’s elegance has impressed critics and chefs alike, leading to enthusiastic responses.
The initial experiment began with a small batch of 20 litres, inspired by a Senegalese chef who introduced the grain. Positive results from this trial led to a larger shipment from Senegal, further fuelling excitement about the grain’s potential.
Previously, fonio was featured in a collaboration between Brewgooder and Brooklyn Brewery, which created a Session IPA with fonio as a key ingredient. This beer aimed to offer a “people-positive alternative” to wheat, showcasing fonio’s potential to make brewing more inclusive and less carbon-intensive.
Carlsberg’s new beer will be available in limited quantities starting August at the Home of Carlsberg in Copenhagen.
