Researchers at Japan’s
Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute have developed an alcoholic
beverage made from tree bark, which it says resembles the qualities of an
alcohol aged in wooden barrels. The team claim to have
produced an alcohol beverage from tree bark that carries different qualities,
depending on the type of tree used.
The 15% abv alcohol is made by
pulverizing wood into a creamy paste and then adding yeast and an enzyme to
start the fermentation process, according to Tokyo’s Straits Times. By
avoiding using heat, researchers say they are able to preserve the specific
flavor of each tree’s wood, and have already produced variants from trees
including cedar, birch and cherry. Having experimented with
both brewed and distilled versions of the alcohol, the team said that the
alcohol presents better as a distilled beverage, with 4kg of cedar wood
producing around 3.8 liters of liquid.
The institute was set up in
1905 with the mandate of carrying out research relating to Japan’s forests and
forest products industries to ensure the sustainability and protection of
natural resources. Researcher Kengo Magara acknowledged that “wood
alcohol” might not be the most beneficial use of its resources, but referred to
the venture as a “dream-inspired” project. The government
institute aims to commercialize the product with a private-sector partner and
have the liquor on shelves within three years.
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