Can the technology behind Bitcoin build a better beer experience? Ireland Craft Beers thinks so, and has launched Downstream, the world’s first brew placed on the blockchain platform.
As Food Ingredients First reports, Ireland Craft Beers use of blockchain technology will provide more transparency into how their beer is made, allowing consumers to see exactly what they are consuming.
For those new to blockchain, CB Insights has a nice, lengthy primer, but for our purposes, think of blockchain as a ledger. In the case of Downstream beer, users can scan a QR code on the bottle and go to an online resource that identifies every unique bottle that comes off the line, including its ingredients and brewing methods.
Ireland Craft Beers is betting that the blockchained Downstream will quench consumers’ increased thirst for knowledge about exactly what they are eating and drinking.
Whether or not a blockchain hook will be enough to move the needle on a particular beer’s sales remains to be seen. But as we’ve written before, blockchain technology is poised to disrupt the entire food scene, with giants like Walmart getting into blockchain to improve food safety.
Hopefully the price of Downstream won’t reach the highs of the blockchain-based Bitcoin, unless you like the thought of paying nearly $10,000 for bottle of meticulously tracked beer.
