It’s now been a year since Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered hospitality businesses to close their doors ahead of the first coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown.
12 months later, they’re still closed.
The prolonged shutdowns and ongoing restrictions over the past year has no doubt had a massive impact on people’s livelihoods, with jobs lost and venues facing uncertainty as to whether they are financially capable of reopening, but on top of that, it’s also meant that tens of millions of pints of beer destined to be drank at pubs across the country have gone to waste.
The British Beer and Pub Association has predicted that around 87 million pints – which is equivalent to £331 million worth of beer – will have been thrown away as a result of pub closures during the several lockdowns around the UK.
But the Heineken brewery in Manchester has managed to find a way to turn all the wasted beer it’s producing into green energy.
Since May 2020, the brewery – which is located on Denmark Road in Moss Side, and is known as a major monument in Manchester’s brewing landscape – has processed 83,210 fifty litre kegs, which is enough power to heat nearly 28,000 average UK homes for a day.
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If you’re looking for a little more context, it’s also enough to make 45,488,120 cups of tea, or power 6,317,794 hours of binge watching movies and TV shows.
Well, in its simplest terms, by reversing the mechanism that would usually fill the kegs, the beer is first taken out and stored in empty vessels, and then this excess beer is drip-fed into the onsite wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and placed into an anaerobic digester that helps convert the beer into biogas, which is captured to produce this renewable and 100% sustainable energy.
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The powerful combined heat and power unit – which is housed inside a shipping container – converts the biogas into heat and electricity.
“After all the care, attention and passion that went into brewing the beer in the first place, it would have been a great shame to pour it down the drain,” said Matt Callan, Brewery and Operations Director at Heineken Manchester.
“No brewer wants to see their beer not be enjoyed.
“Our team of engineers and brewers at Manchester found a solution [by] using our kegging line to empty beer barrels and turning the beer that would have gone to waste into green energy to power the brewing of fresh beer, all ready for when the pubs re-open.
“We’re always looking to find new innovative ways to brew a better world, and this solution is a win-win for drinkers and reducing our impact on the planet.”
Featured Image Credit – Heineken Brewery / Visit Manchester
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Greater Manchester shoppers can take part in a real-life supermarket sweep competition
Emily Sergeant
Aldi is giving Greater Manchester shoppers the chance to take part in a real-life supermarket sweep for charity.
Building on the success of Aldi Scotland’s long-running initiative – which has raised more than £60,000 for charity over the past decade – Aldi is bringing its successful ‘Supermarket Sweep’ fundraiser to England and Wales for the first time, and shoppers from across Greater Manchester will have the chance to take part for a brilliant cause.
10 winners will be selected to take part in the challenge at their local Aldi store, racing against the clock to fill their trolley with Aldi products in just five minutes.
Once the dash is complete, Aldi will donate the full value of each winning trolley to Teenage Cancer Trust, helping to support young people with cancer across the UK.
Unfamiliar with Supermarket Sweep the TV show? This is how it works.
Shoppers can take part in a real-life supermarket sweep competition / Credit: Aldi
The game consists of three teams of two, each with a clock that starts with 60 seconds on it. The teams then attempt to add as much time as possible to their clock by answering questions and riddles posed by the host. The time they accumulate determines how long they have in the ‘Big Sweep’ round to run around a studio mock-up of a supermarket, collecting shopping items.
The team with the shopping trolley filled with items of the most value wins the chance to enter the final ‘Super Sweep’ prize round.
Speaking as entries to the unique competition open this week, Julie Ashfield, who is the Chief Commercial Officer at Aldi UK, said: “Our customers are always incredibly supportive of the causes we champion, and we’re pleased to be bringing this much-loved fundraising initiative to England and Wales for the first time.
“We can’t wait to give shoppers the opportunity to put their trolley-dashing skills to the test, while helping to raise vital funds for Teenage Cancer Trust. Every pound raised will help the charity continue providing specialist care and support to young people with cancer when they need it most.”
The competition is now open, with entries closing at 23:59 on Tuesday 4 August.
To enter, you’ll simply need to email [email protected] with your details for the chance to win, and you can find all the terms and conditions here.
Featured Image – Aldi
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England given potential advantage against Norway after reports of illness in World Cup camp
Danny Jones
England may have just been given a potential advantage ahead of the 2026 World Cup quarter-final against Norway, as it’s said that multiple players have been feeling sick of late.
Now, we’d never wish illness upon anyone… BUT, you certainly won’t hear us complaining about this one.
Yes, according to head coach Ståle Solbakken, some of his teammates haven’t been at their best over the last few days, but he has assured supporters that everyone is recovering well.
Speaking to the media before the upcoming clash, the manager said: “We’ve really only had Jorgen [Strand Larsen of Crystal Palace] who has had a fever, but then there’s been a bit of coughing and rasping scattered throughout [the national squad].”
He’s also admitted the Three Lions will be a tough challenge.
However, the initially reported ‘sickness bug’ is now being played down, with Solbakken noting that with his wider travelling camp having to contend with temperatures, altitude, air conditioning, flights, “changing rooms and all that […] it would be strange if something or other didn’t crop up.”
So, while it may have been exaggerated to a degree, they’ve certainly not been 100%.
The Scandinavian outfit are based at a training complex in Greensboro, North Carolina for this year’s World Cup – their first in nearly three decades – and have had to fly all across the United States for their matches in Boston, New York and Dallas thus far.
Once again, though, even the team doctor has told Norwegian press that the claims have been blown out of proportion, citing “very little fuss considering that we have been close together for almost six weeks”, and insisting that “all players are healthy now”.
Even James Corden was quizzing the opposition on the claims ahead of the fixture:
When asked about the truth in the headlines by domestic news outlet Nettavisen, he even went on to add: “So great that they believe this. We are in control.”
So perhaps there is a bit of sensationalism and/or gamesmanship at work, but that won’t stop us from hoping for a second that there’s even a shred of weakness to be capitalised on.
It remains to be seen just what condition both teams are in after the respective round of 16 thrillers – especially Thomas Tuchel’s side, who had to do it the hard way with 10 men against Mexico in that exhausting first knockout tie – but we’ll take whatever glimmer of hope we can that luck is on our side.
And regardless, it’s given England fans online plenty of material to have some fun with ahead of what is no doubt set to be another very long and stressful night this weekend.
Emily Sergeant -
22nd March 2021 
