French farmer invents milk-based drink with 2% alcohol
A French dairy farmer has invented a product he calls milk beer.
“Everyone thought I was crazy to try to make a milk-based alcohol,” said Marcel Besnard.
He said low prices and strict quotas had led him to look for other ways to market milk. The new drink, Lactiwel, made from milk and malt, contains 2% alcohol by volume. It is brewed using a fermentation process similar to that of traditional beer, except that instead of using beer yeast for fermentation Bernard uses kefir (a Turkish milk product) yeast and lactic bacteria.
The Frenchman said he has also developed a method to change the unsaturated fat content of milk.
He currently produces only 300 bottles per week, selling it in small shops, festivals and markets. He opens to attract investors so he expand production and get his product on to supermarket shelves.