The alcoholic beverage is a collaboration between the country’s national water agency, PUB, and local craft brewery Brewerkz. NEWBrew uses NEWater, Singapore’s brand of drinking water recycled from sewage, which first flowed from treatment plants in 2003 to improve the island’s water security. Singapore’s NEWater is made by disinfecting sewage with ultraviolet light and passing the liquid through advanced membranes to remove contaminant particles.

PUB says the new beer is part of an effort to educate Singaporeans on the importance of sustainable water use and recycling. The idea of processing sewage into drinking water, once largely resisted, has been gaining support in the past decade as the world’s supply of fresh water is increasingly under stress. The World Wildlife Fund estimates 2.7 billion people find water scarce for at least one month a year. Key to expanding the technology is to persuade the public that, once the water has been processed, it’s just water.

The beer was first unveiled at a water conference in 2018, NEWBrew went on sale in supermarkets and at Brewerkz outlets in April 2022. The first batch of NEWBrew is already sold out on tap at Brewerkz restaurants and the company expects stocks at supermarkets will run out by the end of July. The brewer said it will assess the market response before deciding whether to make another batch. (Bloomberg)