What NOT to Do With Spent Grains

1. Put them in the "Green" recyclables can.
2. Forget they are in there.
3. Go away for a couple of weeks.
4. Leave the can out in the hot sun.

The stench was unbelievable. The can has been emptied, but I still find myself checking the bottoms of my shoes and cursing the neighborhood dogs every time I walk past the can.

Oh yeah, I hate it when the only parking available at the local brewery is in the back where the spent grain stored is. The smell is pretty bad, but not bad enough to stop me from going inside to enjoy the tasty offerings on tap.

Dude, tell me about it! I brewed on a Sunday and the trash man didn't come til Friday. We live in the desert. It was worse than when the raccoon got in the copier.

Try mulching around a rose bush with dogs! My SWMBO loved how spent grain mulch revived a potted rose bush. Jake our Boston terrier was suddenly dropping these nice fluffy poops-easy to clean up. Upon closer examination it was all barley husks!

He was none worse for the wear. Dogs really have iron stomachs. The next non-wheat grain will go into dog biscuits. There are recipies on this forum somewhere

Try mulching around a rose bush with dogs! My SWMBO loved how spent grain mulch revived a potted rose bush. Jake our Boston terrier was suddenly dropping these nice fluffy poops-easy to clean up. Upon closer examination it was all barley husks!

He was none worse for the wear. Dogs really have iron stomachs. The next non-wheat grain will go into dog biscuits. There are recipies on this forum somewhere

Trash? Really? Doesn't everyone compost? Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. And for Pete's sake reduce some landfill and compost. We share a 4'x4'x4' bin with the neighbors. It's basically 4 pallets tacked together. i turn it every other month or so and the compost is great for my hops and garden.

I throw them around on my grass in the back yard - no piles, very evenely done.
I never smell anything, so I guess they're just helping the grass.

when I throw mine into a pile outside it turns into a mushroom farm.

Brewer3401 said:

I throw them around on my grass in the back yard - no piles, very evenely done.
I never smell anything, so I guess they're just helping the grass.

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Thats what I do now. It seems to be helping my grass a lot. My first brew they sat in the trash for a few days. I came home one day and thought someone died.

Ryanh1801 said:

Thats what I do now. It seems to be helping my grass a lot. My first brew they sat in the trash for a few days. I came home one day and thought someone died.

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I'm going to have to try this. I don't compost and my lawn is a wreck, so it can only help.

I threw some on the garden and my SWMBO almost killed me. I didn't spread it out so by the time it came to plant it was a nasty slimy rotting mess.

mattreba said:

Trash? Really? Doesn't everyone compost? Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. And for Pete's sake reduce some landfill and compost. We share a 4'x4'x4' bin with the neighbors. It's basically 4 pallets tacked together. i turn it every other month or so and the compost is great for my hops and garden.

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Isn't a landfill just a GIANT compost pile















I now may have to just start throwing mine in the garbage on principle

I add my spent grains to the compost pile, where they quickly become infested with maggots and attract wasps. I try not to go near it for at least two weeks after dumping them in there.

yeah...i live in oakland. can't really have a compost pile. have to throw mine in the garbage. i figure it helps the other stuff decompose faster, anyway :cross:

What I've been doing all summer is dumping them in the empty flower bed and re-covering it with black plastic to keep weeds down. Come fall I intend to turn all of that rotted stuff into the dirt, add some new topsoil, and plant some things appropriate for that time of year like a hydrangea bush. No matter how bad I screw it up nothing can look as bad as the overgrown crap that had become of it when we first moved into this place.

I take mine down by the river where the ducks hang out. I assume the ducks are eating it because I always check the next day and nothing is ever there. Of course it could be a deer or something finding it, but who cares some animal is enjoying it.

1. Put the spent grains in the compost heap
2. Dump a ton of grassclippings onto previous spent grains and water it down
3. Wait a month to turn the pile
4. Wait until it's been the hottest week of the year to turn it
5. Turn the forgotten grains with a pitchfork until the green cloud of mouldy doom wafts in your face
6. Enjoy the aroma!

as per SWMBO request NEVER am I to toss them in the green waste container that the city comes and collects again. I like the spread on the gress idea I will have to try that. how much can you put down? when we brew we have Oh maybe 55+ LBS of grain is that to much???? in a normal size lawn maybe 1000sf
JJ

I just leave them out by the bird feeder....the little critters gobble them down, and I smell nothing!

I just bought a rotating composter, looks like a truck tire, but solid. I hope that being able to mix it will keep the smell down.

Dumped grains in a pile by the fence. Weather got hot. Smelled really bad.

I just dump mine in the garden. Never had a problem with smell. I wish I had a "real" compost pile. I supposed that's a project to add to my list of things I'll probably never get around to doing.

I compost and have never had a problem with smell. Well it is a rather large pile for one house 6x4. I always spread out the pile put the grain evenly in the center cover and turn it in. I add grass clippings, potato peels, veggie and fruit peels, egg shells, coffee grounds. don't forget all the leaves I work in during the fall.

looking good really just started last year

I dump my spent grains in my composter and mix them in. I only notice the smell when I open the lid. I don't seem to have any problems with unwanted pests, mammal or insect. They actually seem to accelerate the composting of the other materials in the composter. The vegetables and leaves seem to decompose rapidly once I get a batch of spent grains mixed in. My theory is that the grains provide a perfect environment for the microbes to multiply and this new workforce can then make quick work of the tougher ingredients.

Craig

I call in my Spent Grain Crew and my yard gets fertilized by little brown pellets. It's gone by the next morning.

EdWort said:

I call in my Spent Grain Crew and my yard gets fertilized by little brown pellets. It's gone by the next morning.

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The grain, or the little brown pellets ?

Brewer3401 said:

The grain, or the little brown pellets ?

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The crew exchanges grain for brown pellets.

Jim Karr said:

I just leave them out by the bird feeder....the little critters gobble them down, and I smell nothing!

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Doing 10-gallon batches...I'd need to attrack a flock of seagulls.

I'm all for keeping the landfill operators employed. I mean...they have kids to feed too. Just like those aluminum farmers. That's why I don't recycle.

BierMuncher said:

Just like those aluminum farmers. That's why I don't recycle.

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LMAO. I hate self-righteous recyclers.

BierMuncher said:

Doing 10-gallon batches...I'd need to attrack a flock of seagulls.

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Llarian said:

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Damn, you beat me to it. LMAO

Foreigner said:

LMAO. I hate self-righteous recyclers.

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Oh well. At least we both like good beer and brewing! Cheers.

Llarian said:

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These guys look a little "light in the loafers". Looks like the one second from the left may be the pin cushion for the evening.

WTF ???

Brewer3401, it's these guys

Is it just me, or is wheat the worst smelling grain after about 3 days? It gets sour smelling, almost acidic.

Blech.

My new house has a garden area. I might get a compost dealy so I can dump my grains in it.

mattreba said:

Oh well. At least we both like good beer and brewing! Cheers.

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I guess I feel recycling is a bandaid solution for an over-consumptive society. Mandate minimal packaging for manufacturers, awesome. Tell me my can is the problem? I don't think so.

Brewer3401 said:

These guys look a little "light in the loafers". Looks like the one second from the left may be the pin cushion for the evening.

WTF ???

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HOly S!

I actually DID LOL, for a while! "pin cushion" ROFL!!!

TD

Holy useless thread revival Batman!

I threw my first steeping grains in the can but that didn't seem right. I have a couple horse owners that are happy to take it but we have to be willing to take it to them right away. Not happening. Half hour drive. So I have just been dumping it in the back. We have some crappy soil back there so it can only help.

Demon said:

Holy useless thread revival Batman!

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Didn't see the date. 2007! Some topics never go out of style!
I just posted a new thread about same topic, AFTER doing a useless search that turned up thousands of irrelevant threads. Anyway, after posting, several "related threads" such as this were suggested, and the rest is history

TD