For years, breweries have known about the option of turning their used barley — a.k.a. "spent grains" — into non-dairy milk. And now, the idea is picking up steam. Last year, Budweiser producer AB InBev discussed the potential of using barley waste to make, among other things, a milk alternative. And now, Coors Light and Miller Lite maker Molson Coors has brought a barley milk to market.
Golden Wing Barley Milk — which beyond being available on the brand's website is also rolling out at Sprouts locations in California and Whole Foods stores in Southern California — is "a non-alcohol plant-based milk that will sit in the dairy aisle." And as for flavor, Molson Coors describes Golden Wing — which is made only from water, barley, sunflower oil, pink Himalayan salt, and shiitake mushroom extract — as offering "a malty sweetness reminiscent of milk leftover in a bowl of cereal," resulting in a taste that is "natural without being overly sweet or astringent."
"The plant-based milk category is growing rapidly, and it's largely fueled by innovation," Brian Schmidt, marketing manager for non-alcohol products at Molson Coors, said in a company blog post. "We know beer, and because of that, we know barley… With our background and expertise, we believe this will be the next major evolution in the plant-based milk category."
The brand also boasts that, compared to two-percent milk, Golden Wing has 60 percent less sugar, 50 percent more calcium, and twice as much Vitamin D at a similar level of calories.
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