French brewer uses algae to make blue beer

A French brewer has started using algae with a naturally occurring pigment to turn its beer blue. The beer, with the brand name “Line,” is the result of a tie-up between a firm that wants to popularize the algae as a dietary supplement and a nearby craft brewery that was looking for a way to make its beverages more distinctive. The beer is selling well, said Sebastien Verbeke, an employee of Hoppy Urban Brew, which makes the drink. “It’s getting an enormous amount of interest and curiosity on the part of the public,” he said. The blue tint comes from spirulina, an algae that is grown in basins by Etika Spirulina, a company in northern France. The component of the spirulina that gives it the blue color, called phycocyanin, is then added to the beer during the brewing process. Tasting a freshly produced bottle of the beer, brewery employee Mathilde Vanmansart described it as hoppy and light with fruity notes, while the only evidence of the added algae was the distinctive color. Xavier Delannoy, whose farm provides the spirulina, said that after several test batches, the brewery had found a blend that appealed to customers. (AP) This article was provided by The Japan Times Alpha.