Meet the creator of Brewer's Crackers. He upcycles grains from Massachusetts beers

Somerville resident and Long Island transplant Kyle Fiasconaro learned that he has two missions in life: He wants to feed people good food and not let nutritious, delicious food go to waste.

Fiasconaro has taken several steps to make that goal a reality.

First, he attended the University of Tennessee on a track and field scholarship. He studied nutrition and dietetics but, disappointed in his chosen major, he left and opted to attend the French Culinary Institute in Manhattan (now known as the International Culinary Center). From there he went on to work a number of restaurant jobs.

Focusing on food waste and upcycling food products

It was while working at a high-end farm-to-table restaurant in upstate New York that Fiasconaro learned to appreciate the actual cost of producing food: The space to grow crops, the time invested, the tending to animals and plants, the water and feed.

“I learned to treat every piece of food with respect,” Fiasconaro said. A hiking trip along the Appalachian Trial found him falling in love with foraging ‒ finding food where it grows in nature.

But it wasn’t “in nature” where he found his calling.

It was the combined aroma of brewer’s grains and freshly baked treats that was the "aha!" moment for Fiasconaro. He was working in Brooklyn’s Prospect Heights neighborhood and was on his way to work when he saw a big Dumpster behind a craft brewery being filled with grains that had been used in the beer-making process.

“I knew that craft brewers use good ingredients,” Fiasconaro said. He asked to take some of the grain; the brewer assented. He played with recipes, combined his grains with other ingredients in different ways and finally produced a cracker. The cracker was put on the menu and served at the restaurant where he worked with a cheese plate.

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That was the first step in what has evolved into Brewer’s Crackers, a specialty food company that takes the leftover grain from brewers and produces crackers, pita chips and even chocolate chip cookies.

Fiasconaro found his way to Massachusetts, following a girlfriend (now his wife) to Greater Boston. He started working at Cutty’s, a Brookline sandwich shop, where he told his new employers about the crackers he had created. Long story short, they gave him free rein in the kitchen afterhours and started selling the crackers in the store.

Lamplighter Brewing Company and others provide the grains

“It was my first retail outlet,” Fiasconaro said.

His first barley source in Massachusetts? Lamplighter Brewing Company in Cambridge.

“I was on a run when I saw the business was being built,” Fiasconaro said of the brewery, which opened in 2016. He waited patiently for the brewery to open and then walked in with a bag, asking for grain.

Brewmaster Tyler Fitzpatrick, founder and owner, said Fiasconaro stood out because he came into the fledgling brewery out of the snow and asked if he could have some barley.

In modern brewing, much of the byproduct of making beer is discarded, despite the fact that it is still packed with fiber, protein and carbohydrates, Fitzpatrick said.

It can be upcycled and also used to feed livestock or composted to create a rich, fertile soil. But Fitzpatrick cited roadblocks: Distance to the nearest farm where it could be used to feed livestock, expense of carting the leftover grain and the general lack of incentives to support upcycling efforts.

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Some brewers discard their grains, others compost. Lamplighter works with a company called Against the Grain that collects the leftovers and delivers it to local farmers to use as feed.

“The state could incentivize private business to provide these services,” Fitzpatrick said, referring to recent legislation that directs businesses to reduce food waste going to landfills. While the wet grain is not considered edible, it can be processed to make it edible.

How Brewer's Crackers are full of nutrients and healthy

Brewer’s Crackers are a case in point.

Fiasconaro collects grains from three different craft brewers located close to the three different bakery partners that produce his goods.

He collects what can be called “spent grain,” barley that has already been sprouted and then roasted or malted. The roasting retards its growth. A light-colored pilsner beer takes a shorter roast than a stout or darker beer; Fiasconaro prefers to use a lighter roast in his baked goods.

Once the malt house roasts the grain and delivers it to the brewer, it’s put in a large vat with water to steep, making a “tea” – the basic building block for beer. The steeped grains are then removed from the liquid, which is where Fiasconaro comes in. He takes the grain, cools it and then dries it out before milling it into flour for making food.

“I don’t bake every day, but every day I bake I use 1,500 pounds of dried grain,” Fiasconaro said. He collects between 6,000 and 7,000 pounds of wet barley, which, when dry, yields about 1,500 pounds of flour.

His dream is to partner with one brewery, take all its spent grain and use it to create good, wholesome food.

His ingredients are simple: The barley from a local brewer, wheat flour, olive oil, sea salt. For his cookies, he uses Cabot butter, King Arthur flour, brown and cane sugars, eggs and sea salt. He partners with three local bakers to produce his treats: One for the crackers, one for the pita chips, one for the cookies.

Where to buy Brewer's Crackers

Of the challenges Fiasconaro faces, gathering his grain is not the biggest. It's what follows: Deciding on packaging and design, and getting into retail markets is harder.

His second retail outlet? Formaggio Kitchen, which has three specialty cheese shops in Massachusetts. His crackers, pita chips and cookies are available in each of those locations: In Cambridge’s Huron Village and Kendall Square neighborhoods, and in Boston. Other local outlets carrying his products include the Wine & Cheese Cask in Somerville and Reliable Market, also in Somerville.

His biggest coup, and challenge, was getting into Whole Foods; not just with a foot in the door, but with a prime spot for his crackers where consumers could see his wares.

Overall, he has about 1,000 “doors” or outlets that carry his baked products. His favorite? Always the local stores.

“Supporting local businesses is important to me,” Fiasconaro said. So important that he prefers to deliver to his local stores himself, driving his van around the community, building relationships with local retailers. “It’s like seeing old friends.”

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And nothing makes him happier than when he overhears a store employee praise the crackers to a customer and tell the story about the origins of the “spent grain” crackers: The healthy, nutritious food that is made from a product that would otherwise be treated as waste.

“I like to educate people, make them feel as if they are part of the mission,” Fiasconaro said. “This isn’t a pledge to do better in the future. When someone buys the product, they are supporting immediate change.”

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Brewer's Crackers up-cycles MA breweries grains to lower food waste