Spent grain disposal

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Malichaidog

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Getting ready to do my first all grain batch and ambitious 10 gallon imperial ipa with a 32 pound grain bill. Any suggestions on what to do with all that spent grain? I live in northern az is there any way livestock, horses etc could eat this?
 
As a guy with woods behind his house, I'm always suprised when i see this question.

My brother brews (in Cali) and feeds a lot of it to his chickens. You need to do something pretty quick with it.... 1 or 2 days and it's a sour mash.

Don't try to force it down your garbage disposal. Lots of clogged pipe threads about that.
 
Livestock yes, I have fed it to dear, chickens and you can even make dog biscuits. I compost quite a bit of mine, the garden never looked better.
 
I've done the dog treats, but even a pound or two of steeping grains makes a lot. Some people use in bread, but again, doesn't take much. You may be hard pressed to use 32 pounds in any kind of cooking. COmposting would be good, but may attract unwanted varmits.
 
There are plenty of threads on this very topic. I see it pop up here every week. In every single thread you will hear about making dog treats and bread. While I imagine dog treats would give your dog gas I really haven't tried it. I don't see taking 4 cups of grain making much of a dent in a 32# grain bill.I know some people can dump in the yard and compost, some dump in a empty area around the house. I compost some, spread some in the yard, but mostly put the bulk in the garbage. From April through November I have yard waste pick up and dump them with my yard waste. From December through March I have no choice but to dump into the garbage. I figure I'm adding some compost to the garbage dump.
 
OpenContainer said:
Definitely search for the dog biscuit thread if you have a dog.

Yup I've got 4 giant wilda beast dogs so there is that I guess. It just seems extremely wasteful to throw so much away
 
I make dog Treats with part and compost the rest. She lovesthem just sits there and watches when we brew knowing that she about to get some fresh treats. I make enough to give to friends pets they all love them as well
 
Yup I've got 4 giant wilda beast dogs so there is that I guess. It just seems extremely wasteful to throw so much away

I originally felt the same way. I wish there was a better more environmentally friendly way to dispose of grains. I think this is why the question comes up so often. I've used 105# of grain this month. (January is my big month of brewing) While I could have made 200 batches of dog treats, I don't know that many dogs, and I wouldn't have time to brew.
 
There is a guy here in Alaska that is making/subsidizing wood pellets with them. He's still in the experimental stage but that's certainly a nice application considering we have a nice brewery (Silver Gulch) here close to Fairbanks.

He's got lots of money and loves spending it on energy experiments. He's growing tomatoes right now (-50F outside) on primarily geothermal energy.

Google "Bernie Karl"
 
Sounds like a plan. My wife is in the board of directors for a local no kill shelter that always has at least 8-10 dogs so maybe I can keep myself soaked in beer and them in treats
 
I use it for compost, which results in lots of awesome food grown from my beer waste.

You can also use it to take up growing oyster mushrooms perhaps.

Or another great option, leave it on someone you don't care for's front door stoop and let them deal with it.
 
The dog treat idea is great but it makes a ridiculous amount. Wife and I made a batch years ago and it only required like 4 cups. Unless you have twenty beasts to feed. A batch will have you floating in more biscuits than you know what to do with and likely cost more in utilities than actually purchasing the biscuits.
 
Yahh,
I have heart people do stuff to the grains from bird feeds to composters to just throwing under a tree as a fertilizer.

I wanted to mention that my first all grain for 5g higher gravity had 12.5 lbs and Managing that amount of grain was a little more difficult then I expected. So I would suggest trying smaller quantities the first time out.
 
Using them for dog treats for the shelter sounds like a really good plan. Composting or mixing it in with soil would be another good idea, but not sure if you garden.
 
I scoop it out and fling it all over my lawn. Lazy way but also naturally composts I guess, I just want that sh*t out of my mash tun before it sours!
 
I make dog treats with some. A friend has chickens that absolutely go nuts for them. Compost some. I have heard that horses won't eat them for some reason, but cows love em. Goats will eat anything. Haven't tried bread yet.
 
Search out the term "brewers grain" and you will find that it is quite desirable as livestock feed as it contains carbohydrates and protein. It does have to be fed quickly as it contains just the perfect mix to sour into a very stinky mess if left wet.
 
I just tossed them in my compost pile. I have a family of deer that come through my yard every night so maye it will keep them from my aborvitaes.
 
For animal feed, it is most often given to cattle... although it can be used for chickens and hogs as well. DO NOT give it to horses though, it can cause serious digestive issues if they eat enough.

Dog treats are a great idea of course, as well as composting.
 
I spread it on my Florida St Augustine lawn. Perfect for adding organic material and the hulls persist for a long time, helping to retain moisture in the lawn. St Augustine is hell to maintain because of bugs and disease, but I haven't used chemicals in two years now and the lawn looks great. I credit the grains.
 
I throw mine in the compost drum along with coffee and tea grounds and spread the result over my garden. My garden is doing great and I reduce my need for waste pick-up. Best of both worlds.
Bob
 
My chickens and goats get all of the spent grains. The result from that goes into the compost pile. A dozen chickens and 5 miniature goats can go through 15-20 lbs. of spent grain every day if given the chance.
 
My chickens and goats get all of the spent grains. The result from that goes into the compost pile. A dozen chickens and 5 miniature goats can go through 15-20 lbs. of spent grain every day if given the chance.

Good excuse to brew more beer. "But, honey, I have to brew again today. The chickens and goats are out of grain!"
 
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