Carling & Everards trial 3D-printed beer mats at The Old Horse pub
In a UK industry first, the 3D printed beer mats will be made in part from spent grains from the Carling Brewery
Carling and Everards of Leicestershire have partnered to trial the development of 3D printed beer mats made in part from spent grains at a pub in Leicester.
The experiment will allow The Old Horse on London Road in Leicester to print customisable Carling beer mats using a 3D printer. 3D printing is the process of producing a 3D object from a digital file, with objects printed using a filament.
In this instance, the filament is made in part with spent grains, a bi-product of the brewing process from the Carling Brewery in Burton-on-Trent. The experiment represents a move from the UK’s leading beer brand to explore how bi-products of the brewing process can be reused in innovative ways. 20% of the filament is made from spent grains with the remaining 80% being made from Polylactic Acid (PLA) which is made from sugar cane and sugar beet.
Commenting on the test, Carling Brand Director Miranda Osborne said: “We’re delighted to be working with Everards and The Old Horse on this trial, which draws on an exciting technology to create an innovative way of reusing spent grains from our local Carling Brewery. 3D printing is only going to become more and more popular, so it’s great to test how it can work for our customers and Carling drinkers.”
The Old Horse Business Owner Kevin Shepherdson said: “Seeing the success of the 3D printer in action really shows the potential for this technology. It’s already got me thinking about all the different things around the pub that we could print in the future! One of the great things about the beer mats is that we can use them again and again.”
Everards Commercial Manager, Giles Mattock said: “We’re delighted to partner with Carling to work on future focused experiments. Over the centuries, pubs have been the hub of innovation where people come together to bring ideas to life and we want to ensure that continues into the future. We’re looking forward to seeing what the customers of The Old Horse think of the 3D printed beermats and are excited to run further experiments in Everards pubs in the coming months.”
The Carling 3D printing filament was the result of a collaboration between 3DFuel.com, C2Renew and Colour Tone Masterbatch. This particular filament is not currently available for sale and is only being used for The Old Horse trial at present.
The 3D printed beer mats will be produced in The Old Horse, 198 London Road, Leicester, LE2 1NE from 22 October to 26 October. People are welcome to come down to the pub and see the 3D printer in action between 11am and 4pm.
