Bread

Technically, kvass isn’t beer—but it’s delicious, fermented, easy to make, and a long-standing tradition in Eastern Europe.

It’s like they belong together: one of the most food-friendly styles on the planet—Vienna lager—and the food whose ancient origins are comingled with beer’s own at the very roots of civilization.

Don’t let that extra loaf go to waste—try throwing it into your mash tun. Here, Sam Fleet of Brussels Beer Project breaks down the unexpected benefits of brewing with bread.

Scratch—the rural Illinois brewery just nominated for a James Beard Award—is known for a seasonal range of beers made from foraged ingredients. Less well known is what they use to ferment most of those beers: the same stuff they use to raise their breads.