Saving the planet one beer at a time

14 June, 2015

Us Kiwis love a cold one, and we could soon be saving the planet every time we pop the top off a beer. DB Export have announced plans of an attempt at producing a commercially viable biofuel, based on the by-products of beer brewing.

By using ethanol — derived from beer production — and mixing it with regular petroleum, they hope to have their ‘Brewtroleum’ ready by July 2015. These biofuels emit less carbon than petrol when burnt, so it may not be long before we have a legitimate excuse to buy a box.

The brewing process leaves dregs of yeast slurry, which tests by DB Export and independent specialists have found can be stripped of ethanol. This can then be distilled and blended in a 10:90 ratio with 98 octane petrol to create an E10 (10-per-cent ethanol) biofuel.

“Brewtroleum presented the opportunity to take the natural by-product of the brewing process and turn it into something that can genuinely help the environment,” said Sean O’Donnell, DB Export’s Head of Domestic Marketing. “What’s more, men can help to save the world just by doing what they already love — drinking DB Export.”

The first sample of DB Export bioethanol will be ready for testing in a few weeks, and, if it is successful, Brewtroleum will be made available through one of the country’s major fuel retailers. We’ll be keeping an eye out for further news — we’re all for more reasons to feel good about drinking beer!

Travelling companion

It’s easy to see why the Morris Minor Traveller was one of the best-loved variants of the Morris Minor. Introduced in 1953, it was equipped with the same independent torsion bar front suspension, drum brakes, and rack and pinion steering as its saloon sibling but, with their foldable rear seat increasing versatility, many Travellers were used as trade vehicles, says Derek Goddard. Derek and Gail Goddard, the owners of this superbly restored example, have run Morris Minors since before they were married in 1974.
“Our honeymoon vehicle was a blue Morris Minor van — it was a rust bucket,” says Derek.

Super Leicht Gullwing

It’s fair to say that nothing much in the classic Mercedes world gets past Mercedes-Benz Club stalwart Garry Boyce so it wasn’t surprising to learn that around 15 years ago he had sniffed out an extremely rare 300SL lightweight Gullwing as well as a 1958 300SL Roadster hiding away in the Waikato. The cars were not for sale but Garry eventually managed to persuade the owner to allow him and his restoration team to take a look at the Roadster. They discovered a very distressed but largely unmolested car. The car was so original that the body had never been off the chassis, meaning most of the parts and fittings were still present and correct, as they had been fitted by the factory.