Samoa: Breadfruit beer ready to go global

A Samoan beer maker is setting its sights on the international market with a new product made from a fruit native to the Pacific. Samoa Breweries is undertaking a trial to turn locally-grown ulu, or breadfruit, into beer. As an added bonus, the brew is gluten-free, raising the prospect of niche marketing as a boutique beer in the United States and other western countries.

Samoa Breweries spokesman Sean Hellisoe has told Pacific Beat it’s a great tasting beer that should have wide appeal.

“There’s huge potential, not just in the gluten-free market but just as a tasty, good, natural product,” he said.

“We’re replacing commercially-grown barley with naturally-grown, pesticide-free breadfruit from a tropical island.

“I’m sure that will appeal to quite a few beer consumers.”

Hellisoe says the main barrier to expansion is getting more of the breadfruit flour that was developed by the Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa.

Hellisoe says the crop is still in pilot scale and Samoa Breweries is using everything it produces, so there is room for growth.

He says initially the brewery will focus on supplying the domestic market, particularly in the capital Apia.

“It’s first and foremost about using local ingredients, about reducing our reliance on imported grain,” he said.

“Rather than shipping ingredients from halfway across the Pacific, we’re replacing it with breadfruit from our backyard.

“That’s supporting our local farmers and also the local researchers who have developed the breadfruit flour.”