A New Whey to Enjoy Your Summer
By David Durrett – a current intern at GreenStar Food Co+op, David Durrett is a lifelong resident of Ithaca as well as a graduate of Ithaca College. He is a freelance reporter whose work has also appeared in Tompkins Weekly and The Ithaca Voice, among other publications.
Norhwey Nordic Seltzer, producing in the Finger Lakes area, is thrilled to introduce a new product in the adult beverage market – a hard seltzer made from upcycled yogurt whey. Norwhey boasts that their seltzer is better than the average seltzer or beer for the consumers and for the environment.
Samuel D. Alcaine, a professor of dairy fermentation at Cornell since 2016, has worked with his partner, Trystan Sandvoss, on Norwhey Nordic Seltzer since 2019. Their product was just released to stores in April 2022. Samuel, a former researcher and developer for Miller Brewing Company, utilized his expertise in the industry to create Norwhey Nordic Seltzer with his business partner.
“It’s fulfilling to have been able to take an idea around how we might improve dairy sustainability and then develop that and get it to market,” Samuel said. “It’s not just an idea in a lab; Norwhey has become a real-world thing that people can touch, drink, and enjoy.”
One key ingredient in Norwhey beverages is whey, the dairy byproduct remaining after milk is curdled and strained, and unlike cheese whey, yogurt whey contains no protein, but is full of vitamins and minerals.
“There’s no other product, no other hard seltzer or beer that is made from whey,” Samuel said. “We are the first of our kind.”
Norwhey is also sustainable, since it is made from recycled whey that would otherwise be applied to the land, fed to animals or dumped in manure pits, thus reducing waste and environmental damage. New York is one of the top producers of yogurt in the country. Three to four cups of whey are produced for every one cup of Icelandic yogurt made, resulting in large amounts of whey and material for Norwhey to convert into alcoholic beverages..
“We’re taking all that hard work that has been used to make this product and throwing it away, we need to recapture that” Samuel said.
Norwhey is a seltzer that is flavored with real fruit. Because of the way that Norwhey is made, Norwhey is rich in electrolytes, calcium, magnesium, potassium and other nutrients.
“One can of Norwhey contains 30% of your daily calcium,” Samuel said.
Despite being made from whey, Norwhey is lactose-free, since the lactose is fermented out and converted to alcohol. This makes it ideal for the lactose-intolerant or those who would prefer not to drink dairy.
“People think of dairy as thick; we are light and refreshing,” Samuel said. “If you didn’t know that we had whey in the product, if you were to drink it blind, you wouldn’t be able to tell that it actually came from dairy.”
Norwhey comes in three flavors- Glacial Ginger, Mountain Berry and Solar Citrus– and is sold in many different grocery stores and beer retailers in western New York, west of Interstate 81. It is produced out of an experimental brewery in Interlaken, as well as by contract in Cazenovia. Samuel said that because New York is the birthplace of Norwhey and it produces so much yogurt, Norwhey is a distinctly New York brand.
“There isn’t another place where Norwhey could have sprouted from besides New York,” Samuel said.
Samuel hopes to hire additional people to expand Norwhey within the next month or so, mainly to help build Norwhey’s brand and spread awareness of the drink, and has positions posted on his website. Norwhey currently consists of himself and Trystan, and the two must handle all the responsibilities necessary to run the business.
“Right now, we each have to wear a lot of hats,” Samuel said, “everything from production planner to picking up the whey and going out and doing tastings and lining up accounts. Right now, it is a challenge, but we’re just starting off, so that’s part of the excitement.
Norhwey has been sold at GreenStar since the start of April, after connecting with the co-op’s category management director. Samuel, who has often shopped at GreenStar for produce, appreciates GreenStar for its thoughtful selection and being beneficial to the community.
“I think Greenstar is a great pillar of the Ithaca community,” Samuel said. “I’ve been in Ithaca on and off since 2003, so I’ve known GreenStar for a long time, and I think they bring a mindfulness to their product selection that resonates with the Ithaca community and I think that’s an important part. We are, as a brand new beverage, lucky and honored to be part of the offerings that GreenStar gives to the community.”
Norwhey will hold a tasting at GreenStar on May 7 having already held one there on April 13. While the COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult to hold in-person tasting events, Samuel knows it is an important way to spread awareness about one’s products.
“We deliver on great taste, we deliver on a better-for-you proposition with electrolytes and better for environment, but no one has heard of us,” Samuel said, “so I think the biggest piece right now is building awareness around Norwhey, and again, that’s where working with GreenStar is so valuable and important for us as a new business”
For more information or to purchase Norwhey online, go to the company’s website at https://www.norwhey.com/