The waste grain and hops, from making the environmentally friendly beer, are used as cattle feed, and the couple that run the operation—Ashley and Jane Huntington—have plans to market beer-fed beef. Beer-fed beef might sound odd, but the Japanese feed the “black Tajima-ushi breed of Wagyu cattle,” used to produce the famous Kobe beef, “a beer a day.” You can watch a video of the operation here or visit the couple’s website—The Two Metre Tall Company. From ABC Online:

It is thought to be the only beer in the nation made completely from ingredients grown on-site.

“We grow grain, barley and wheat. We’ve started to grow hops many heritage variety of crops and we get the water from either the sky or the Derwent River,” Mr Huntington said.

They have turned to century-old techniques, using an open fermenting process to keep the brew preservative-free.

“What we are I suppose is the first phase of the wheel turning back hopefully to a more sustainable food production model.”

He says recycling of ingredients on the farm makes their golden ale emission-free.

“Waste from spent grain goes back into the paddock, and all of the solid waste grain and hop residues are fed back to the beef cattle.”

“The only thing we emit from the farm is the occasional bag of rubbish,” he said.

Jane Huntington says the choice of feed is popular with their herd of beef cattle.

“The moment that tractor starts up, they come running,” she said.

The system has attracted the attention of Sydney’s Institute of Sustainablility which wants to develop the idea for the global market.

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