The Rural Voice, 2019-05, Page 47products, eventually creates the
bricks that resemble the final
customer product. The liquid, or
whey, that is removed from those
bricks is where 5th Bean starts.
Tofu whey naturally has high
sugars, making it a perfect starting
point for fermentation, alongside
some special yeast that allows the
highest conversion of those sugars to
alcohol.
From there, the fermented whey is
distilled to purify its alcohol content,
after which, emulsifiers and
flavouring are introduced, which lead
to the creation of the soy liqueur. The
first flavour the project partners have
used is Irish cream.
Aside from the growing market, the
environmental benefits and the
unique product, 5th Bean also
benefits from being something that
can be produced locally, Mitchell
said. “The tofu whey we used is
from Mississauga and soybeans are
widely available,” he said.
While the product can’t yet be sold
legally, as there are hurdles for the
team to overcome before that’s
possible, Mitchell said that those who
have tried it have had nothing but
good things to say.
While the challenge of selling 5th
Bean lies ahead of the team, Mitchell
said they are confident because of not
only the support they have, but also
because they have overcome other
challenges in the production of the
liqueur.
“The two biggest challenges we
faced in this endeavour have been
unanticipated reactions during
fermentation and sourcing our
ingredients on a small scale,” he said.
While the project team has
consisted of three, Mitchell was
quick to say that they received
significant support from
professionals. First and foremost,
Mitchell said, his professor, Mike
Von Massow helped with advice and
guidance.
The group also extended thanks to
Ying Ying Soy Foods of
Mississauga, which offered time with
and access to their tofu whey;
Escarpment Laboratories of Guelph
and Prof. George van der Merwe
who helped Mitchell and his cohorts
identify the strain of yeast they
needed and Murphy’s Law distillery
in Elmira, which helped design a still
to refine the alcohol and make sure
the product was safe for
consumption.
Mitchell said the unique name for
the product ties back to soybean
farming. A traditional way of valuing
a soybean crop was to look at the
number of beans per pod. Three-bean
pods are desirable, while four-bean
pods are notable.
“Pods creating five beans are
almost unheard of,” Mitchell said.
“When creating Fifth Bean, we
strove to produce cream liqueur
equally unusual in its high quality.”
As for the future, Mitchell said he
and his partners hope to continue
pursuing 5th Bean as a business. with
the assistance of the John F. Wood
Centre for Business and Student
Enterprise at the University of
Guelph.
“As I said, there are legal hurdles
before we go to market, but there is
significant interest, identifying a
potential market,” Mitchell said. ◊
May 2019 43
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