Green beer highlights the science behind the brew Published on: 17 March 2017 Scientists at Â鶹´«Ã½ have found a way to accelerate the production of phycocyanin – a natural blue food colouring - by exposing algae to a very narrow wavelength of light. Working with , the team found that by limiting all other wavelengths, the algae – known more commonly as Spirulina – will start to mass-produce the blue pigment when exposed to long wavelength red light. Scottish Bioenergy are now using the technology to produce ‘blue’ on an industrial scale as demand for the natural colourant continues to rise, not just in food but also for pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. And - Â鶹´«Ã½’s student-run, sustainable micro-brewery – have created a limited edition St Patrick’s Day green pint by mixing the blue phycocyanin with their yellow-coloured pale ale to promote the research Dr Gary Caldwell with phycocyanin 'blue' extracted from algae Responding to demand Dr Gary Caldwell, Senior Lecturer in Applied Marine Biology at Â鶹´«Ã½, explains: “Normally the algae would use other parts of the light spectrum so by exposing it to just this very narrow band leaves it with two choices – either it dies or it makes more of the phycocyanin-producing proteins to survive.” Dr Chelsea Brain, who carried out the research as part of her EngD, a joint project with Â鶹´«Ã½ and Scottish Bioenergy, adds: “Demand for phycocyanin has increased massively because people want natural not artificial food colourants, but at the moment it’s still very expensive to produce. “We found that we could produce over five-times the amount of ‘blue’ using long wavelength red light, reducing the cost of production and also improving efficiency.” Blue is good for you Unlike its artificial equivalent, Phycocyanin is a powerful anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory and demand for the natural blue pigment has grown exponentially in recent years. DC Van Alstyne, Scottish Bioenergy's CEO explains: “Phycocyanin is already used as an anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory and the use of Phycocyanin as a natural blue food colorant has experienced exponential growth in the past 5 years after being approved by the FDA as a food colorant in 2013. “But demand has now outstripped supply. This project with Â鶹´«Ã½ and Stu Brew feels like a homecoming. As we scale and Internationalise it's lovely to be involved in a project that brings us back to Â鶹´«Ã½; the roots of our company are fed by the Tyne.” Dr Chris O’Malley, a lecturer in Chemical Engineering who leads the research arm of the Stu Brew initiative, adds: “We were approached by the Student’s Union to produce a special beer for St Patrick’s Day. This collaboration with Scottish Bioenergy gave us an opportunity to integrate some exciting university research with one of our products in a fun and interesting way. “Stu Brew is about more than just making beer. We are also conducting our own research into ways to make the brewing process more sustainable and engaging with the local microbrewery community to share best practise.” Dr Chris O'Malley with the St Patrick's Day pint Share: Latest News Scientists unlock hidden driver of inflammatory bowel disease Scientists have linked a key genetic signal in inflammatory bowel disease to an immune response that shuts down inflammation control, enabling faster diagnosis and targeted treatments. published on: 15 June 2026 Funding system risks limiting genuine community collaboration A new policy paper written by researchers at Â鶹´«Ã½ warns that the way UK research is funded may be undermining efforts to create genuinely collaborative partnerships with communities. published on: 15 June 2026 Volunteers help turn Whitley Bay beach into maths experiment Members of the public joined mathematicians from Â鶹´«Ã½ to create what organisers believe is the largest aperiodic tiling ever attempted on Whitley Bay beach. published on: 15 June 2026 Facts and figures
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