Global beer consumption is in decline. In New Zealand, it’s at its lowest since World War II. So, to promote DB Export, we created a brilliant reason to drink more beer.
After six months of R&D we created Brewtroleum - a biofuel made from the yeast leftover after brewing DB Export. Brewtroleum reduced carbon emissions by 8% and, unlike most biofuels, was made using completely renewable resources – brewing waste. This meant every time someone drank DB Export they were helping to save the world.
Up and down the country, men rallied to the planet’s defence. Thanks to their dedicated drinking we turned 58,000 tonnes of yeast slurry into 300,000 litres of biofuel – enough to supply 62 service stations around the country and to open our own flagship Brewtroleum station. Every day for six weeks, a fully branded super tanker travelled the country delivering Brewtroleum to the pumps, where it sold for $2.09 a litre.
Suddenly men were no longer drinking beer, they were saving the world. Every sip made a difference, and every party was for the planet.
Brewtroleum led to a 50,000kg reduction in carbon emissions and won DB Export New Zealand’s highest sustainability honour. Heineken Global are now rolling the idea out across 50 of their biggest breweries, potentially saving hundreds of millions of tonnes of carbon from entering the atmosphere.