Hopps and trub on the compost pile?

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blancoh2o

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My wife seems to think that there will be some benefit to throwing the hopps and trub onto her compost once our beer is in the secondary. Is anyone else doing this?

I just flushed the trub from the IPA (in secondary) down the toilet.

Thanks!:mug:
 
blancoh2o said:
My wife seems to think that there will be some benefit to throwing the hopps and trub onto her compost once our beer is in the secondary. Is anyone else doing this?

I just flushed the trub from the IPA (in secondary) down the toilet.

Thanks!:mug:

Yes! Always. And if you are AG then compost the spent grain too or use it as a thin layer of mulch.
 
I always empty my hop bag into the composter, and sometimes the fermenter trub as well. Of course the spent grain goes in there as well...I bet 1/4 of the compost volume comes from grain! It breaks down VERY fast, particularly if you've stocked your heap with earthworms.
 
Even with fencing around it I just don't trust my dogs to stay out of the compost heap. I add all my grains and trub, but the hops go in the trash.
 
Revvy said:
As long as there is no way for a dog to get at the hops in the pile you're fine...A lot of people compost their goop....

Here's the info about hops and pooches.

http://www.fallbright.com/HopToxicity.htm

Very very true. For those that did not click the link, hops are HIGHLY toxic to dogs. Small quantities are lethal, and even if you notice quickly that the dog ate some, there's no guarantee the Vet can save the animal (and it will be costly).

Its essentially a kind of allergic reaction...usually fatal from what I've read.
 
I've been been dumping my hops and trub, where my garden was last year. I'm planting my rhizome this year, right where its been composting. I guess it will be like recycling.
 
I use the spent grains and unused trub in the yard/garden - I don't have a compost pile but everything that I spread breaks down quickly. I never spread the hops around even before I heard about the MH in dogs - because I do not compost (not enough space).

I always put the hops in the garbage, although I do not have dogs my neighbors do.
 
will dogs go after live hops? should i consider fencing in the hops i plan to grow this year?
 
About the dogs going for the live hops, I don't think you should have to worry, my parents have had a very large hop plant for years, and also dogs, and have had no problems. Now in no way am I saying your safe cause you know how dogs are, but honestly I know a lot of hop farmers around here that also have dogs and I have never heard of any dogs eating the hops. My dog wont even touch them in their spent form, I am planning on growing quite a variety of hops this year and I'm not worried at all.
 
I have no experience in composting, but plan to start in the spring. I think the main thing I need to understand is at what point you stop adding material so that you can pull out the fertilizer?
 
i compost all my brewing leftovers...grain, hops, trub...whatever. i also compost other organic household matter, but in the end my pile is mostly spent grain.

i used the spent grain et al compost 1:4 with screened loam for a vegetable garden this past summer and it turned out well
 
Not to cause much argument, but from what I have read, only a small percentage of dogs will have the problem with hops. I believe greyhounds were one of the breeds who was mentioned about this happening with. Most dogs can consume the hops with no problems, but if your dog is one of those that is suceptable to it it apparently acts like hypothermia and will kill. Be cautious but you do not have to be paranoid about it.
 
I find the information on dogs & "hop toxicity" interesting - as I am a veterinary anesthesiologist, avid home brewer, and the owner of 3 dogs, including one greyhound. Here are my observations:

I don't think what has been described as 'hop toxicity' has anything to do with malignant hyperthermia, which is a genetic disease triggered by certain chemical compounds, and is fatal w/o rapid intervention with specific drugs (dantrolene). There are other hyperthermic reactions that have been reported in some specific breeds of dogs (including greyhounds) that share some similarities to MH, but are usually not fatal.

That being said, the medical evidence in the literature for 'hop toxicity' is very limited - little is truly known. Also, in my experience to date, brewing in a shop with lots of dogs milling about (our own, our neighbors, and other friends) one thing I've noted is that MOST dogs show absolutely no interest in hops. Potentially toxic? Maybe. Likelihood of toxicity? Pretty low. Do we allow our dogs free access to spent hops? No. Are we paranoid about our dogs having access to hops? No. If you see that your dog has a tendency to ingest hops, I would be careful, but most dogs, in my experience, just are not interested...

Ron Mandsager, DVM, Diplomate, American College of Veterinary Anesthesiologists
Associate Professor, Veterinary Anesthesiology
Oregon State University
 
Not to cause much argument, but from what I have read, only a small percentage of dogs will have the problem with hops. I believe greyhounds were one of the breeds who was mentioned about this happening with. Most dogs can consume the hops with no problems, but if your dog is one of those that is suceptable to it it apparently acts like hypothermia and will kill. Be cautious but you do not have to be paranoid about it.

The sad thing is there's very little information/evidence either way. If you actually did a google search (I haven't done on in years on this topic) you will basically the same ONE article warning referenced. I actually looked into it as a "meme" back in 08.

But people are passionate about the worry. You should read some of the threads on this topic that have spring up over the years on here, just do a single keyword search on Hypothermia and read some of the discussions.

It's one of those things honestly you don't want to be "wrong" about, do you? So I do think you have to be paranoid about it...because we just don't anyone's doggies to get killed do we because we downplayed what COULD be a serious risk, do we?
 
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