Disposal of spent grain

Looking for advice, I make 12 gallon all grain batches.

I don't have chickens anymore and don't need them for compost.

I usually toss them into the yard waste can and they just go away. But the yard waste bin is parked kinda close to my neighbors and it starts to reek after a couple of days and leak some nasty juice down the concrete driveway and over the sidewalk. A bit unsightly. It also gets very hot here.

I wonder if I can put them in a bucket with some holes and allow it to drain and dry out prior to disposing them in the yard waste.

Any ideas?

I think if you put them in a bucket they will get really foul quickly, just as if they were sitting in the yard waste bin. You could spread them out (on the driveway or patio) to dry, then add them to the yard bin. Hope that gets composted and not landfilled?


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Try spreading them out thinly on a piece of plywood or some other flat surface, and let them dry in the sun. They won't stink if you can get them dry enough!

I used to spread them over the lawn until we found a small local farm where the goats, ponies, pig, and turkeys scarf it.

We take it there the same or next day and feed it to them. After the mash is done I let the grains cool in a thin layer in a flat concrete-mixing tub and scoop it into a bucket with lid to transport. It would start to reek after a few hours if it stays hot.

Use some of it to make dog treats if you have dogs... take the rest to a farm, try a craigslist ad, if you brew enough to make it worth the trip I'm sure there's plenty of peolpe that would come pick it up from you.

Good ideas guys, thanks.

I pass a goat/sheep farm well probably just a hobby farm with a dozen or so animals on the way to work and I see gardeners dropping off grass and leaves over the fence. Maybe I can donate them to the farmer.

I throw it in the corner of the yard, but it gets nasty fast; stench, flies. Luckily in Florida we get enough rain to keep in flushed away. In the winter I put it in a trash bag and dispose of it.

Yeah, trash bag might be good for me too.

I am kind of worried about a "bag bomb" though! :rockin:

masskrug said:

I throw it in the corner of the yard, but it gets nasty fast; stench, flies. Luckily in Florida we get enough rain to keep in flushed away. In the winter I put it in a trash bag and dispose of it.

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northcal said:

Yeah, trash bag might be good for me too.

I am kind of worried about a "bag bomb" though! :rockin:

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Been doing it this way for a while. It really isn't feasible for me to do it any other way. Never had a bag bomb.

Just toss it out with the trash.

I use 'contractor bags'. They are a lot heavier and don't leak like normal trash bags. The Texas heat makes a stinky mess very fast.


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I dump it into trash bags. Never had luck drying it in the oven and the ponies are an hour drive away so it won't stay fresh long enough. Just make sure you have big enough bags. > 13 gallons in my experience. Too many times I've flipped the mash tun and ended up with grain on the patio.

Mash in a bag is becoming attractive. Using muslin or paint strainers to hold the grain in the mash tun. No stuck sparges, no vorlauf required, no rice hulls required and you can just pull the bag and dump it. Spray out the mash tun and carry on.

Donate them to someone who will use them as feed for their animals. It's a win/win.

stru said:

Donate them to someone who will use them as feed for their animals. It's a win/win.

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Thats what I do.
Farmer a mile away gives me a dozen fresh eggs eveytime I drop off a bag full spent grains.
I just stopped by one day and asked if they would like some feed for their chcikens.
been a win win ever since

Colorado68 said:

Thats what I do.

Farmer a mile away gives me a dozen fresh eggs eveytime I drop off a bag full spent grains.

I just stopped by one day and asked if they would like some feed for their chcikens.

been a win win ever since

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That's a great outcome, for sure! Maybe the goat farmer will throw me a 1/2 goat once in awhile for the spent grain?

You know what?, a girl I work with just asked me to help her move a new to her chicken coop! I bet I can convert the spent grain into eggs from her.

Thanks again guys,

northcal said:

[...] I bet I can convert the spent grain into eggs from her.

Thanks again guys,

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Be careful of what kind of eggs are being offered

I built a spent grain drainer that has worked pretty well for me so far. I haven't got any chickens or neighbors with chickens so I have to bag the spent grain and put it in the trash. Here's how I drain it and get it dry enough to bag:

The bucket is lined with 1/8" mesh hardware cloth bottom. The grain drains overnight in the bucket and then goes into a trash bag the next day. It works pretty good.

Thanks, Puddle!

I was thinking of the same thing... bucket lined with screen.

We'll see if I can't dispose of in a more sustainable way, but that looks like a good solution!

We must almost be neighbors.

Thanks,

,
-


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I dump my spent grain in a pile for the deer and other wild animals to eat. The pile never gets big enough to stink.

I use a 6 gallon bucket with a trash bag lined in it. Pour in the spent grain and drive it over to my sisters house to feed the chickens. It's like crack to them!

I compost it. Smells bad for a day or three, but then it's all good.

My chickens are weird, they hardly eat it for some reason. So, I feed my spent grain to the pigs. Thus continuing the great cycle of beer to bacon. The best kind of recycling.

We have a freezer full. We dry them in the oven, run them through the food processor and make flour. Then, we use it to make breads, crackers, etc. When we get too many, we compost them.

I do something similar to puddle, with two cat litter buckets (the yellow brand from pet smart). I drilled a bunch of holes in one and put it inside another. This drains the grain enough that I can dump it in the trash without worrying about the bag leaking liquid.

Fortunately trash pickup is Mondays for me, so it usually only sits around for a day or two before it's collected.

In these days of back to the earth and urban farming, it's fairly easy to find someone with chickens.

Or, toss it in the neighbor's trash can at night.

I need to find me a chicken farm. Farm fresh eggs are the bomb!

mmb said:

Or, toss it in the neighbor's trash can at night.

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Pretty sure the neighbor would shoot me once the reek started setting in!