London’s National Bakery School is marking its 125th anniversary with the launch of a beer made from surplus bread.

The school, which is part of the London South Bank University (LSBU), has teamed up with two Southwark-based breweries – Toast Ale and Orbit Beers – in a three-way partnership to create the beer.

The commemorative ale has been brewed using surplus bread supplied by the National Bakery School, left over from an Alliance for Bakery Students and Trainees (ABST) competition earlier this year, in which the school’s students took part.

“Brewing and brewery products are a new departure for the National Bakery School and we’re really very excited about this new three-way partnership with Toast Ale and Orbit Beers,” said Elaine Thomson, director of LSBU’s National Bakery School.

“It is an absolute bonus for LSBU that the surplus bread the school produces is not going to waste, but is being put to good use instead, helping to create a delicious new ale. The plan is to eventually make the new pale ale available to LSBU students through the Student Union as part of a project to combat waste on campus.”

Toast Ale brews its collaboration beers with at least 25% bread in place of grain and, on this occasion, Orbit Beers used German hops to create a uniquely flavoured pale ale containing hints of banana, thanks to the German ‘hefe weizen’ yeast it used to brew it.

Charities will also benefit from the collaboration as Toast Ale donates to a food or environmental charity and Orbit Beers will be giving 20p per litre brewed to local foodbank Pecan.

To find out more about the 125-year history of the world’s oldest bakery school, read our latest piece ‘Delving into the archives of the National Bakery School’.