According to DCBrau CEO & Co-Owner Brandon Skall, being a community-based business is about more than just having DC in our name. This season, the brewery is helping to fight hunger around the city by brewing a special beer in order to donate its spent grain for a special fundraiser with Pizzeria Paradiso to benefit Bread for the City (www.breadforthecity.org).
“We are so proud to be continuing the Bread for the City Program for the third year with our friends at Pizza Paradiso,” says Skall.
Over the past two years, the brewery has donated its spent grain created from the brewing process to Pizza Paradiso, who then has turned that grain into loaves of bread baked especially for Bread for the City during Thanksgiving. Last year, the restaurant created a special pizza crust, also using the spent grain, to raise additional funds to donate to the charity.
“Pizzeria Paradiso and Bread for the City share a single mission, feeding hungry people with more than good food,” says Ruth Gresser, Owner/Chef of Pizza Paradiso. “Over the past few years, Pizzeria Paradiso has broadened our mission by donated over 300 loaves of DC Brau spent grain bread to Bread for the City.”
This year, DC Brau’s Co-Founder & Head Brewer Jeff Hancock has formulated a special limited-edition English Stout, named Pauncy Stout, crafted specifically for the baking potential of its malted by-product.
“I was going for a very traditional English Stout with a large addition of malted oats and flaked barley to make for a smooth quaff, but also to make a great pizza crust or loaf of bread from the spent grain,” says Hancock.
The spent grain will be used for the Brewer’s Grain pizza crust available at all Pizza Paradiso locations from Thanksgiving through Christmas for a $2 additional charge. All proceeds from the extra $2 charge will go to Bread for the City, in addition to the 150+ loaves they plan to bake and deliver to the organization next week.
“I especially love the fact that we turn something that would otherwise be unused into something good for so many people," says Pizza Paradiso’s Executive Bar Manager Greg Jasgur, who has been elemental in the creation and expansion of this joint fundraiser over the last three years.
