What do you do with your spent grains?

[Hoppy2bmerry]

After making a loaf or two of grain bread, I give the rest to a friend with chickens, and they also make dog treats with them.

 

[BNolt17]

Homercidal this is the recipe that I have been using. Cutting the heat to 200 and baking for a few more hours is key. I usually bake them at the end of the day and when the 3 hours is up, just cut the heat and let them sit in the oven overnight. And don't make them too thin, the thin ones break up easy.

http://www.eckraus.com/blog/how-to-make-spent-grain-dog-treats

Made dog biscuits again yesterday. A small percentage of total grain, but the dogs seem to like it. Just need to find a recipe that binds well. The past few batches have not stuck together properly. They tend to flake apart. maybe needs to cook lower and slower and longer.

 

[z-bob]

I only bake them [dog biscuits] for about 20 minutes at 300°, but then I put them on a food dehydrator overnight.

 

[nasty_rabbit]

Dog biscuits or granola bars. The only difference is I add honey to the granola bars.

 

[Cavpilot2000]

Homercidal this is the recipe that I have been using. Cutting the heat to 200 and baking for a few more hours is key. I usually bake them at the end of the day and when the 3 hours is up, just cut the heat and let them sit in the oven overnight. And don't make them too thin, the thin ones break up easy.

http://www.eckraus.com/blog/how-to-make-spent-grain-dog-treats

This is the recipe I use.
The egg is optional - I've made them without and they hold together just fine.
I roll to about 1/4-3/8 inch thick.

 

[brewprint]

I didn't start noticing the smell until the pile got pretty large. With the volume of beer I make, I was adding grain to the pile faster than it could decompose. It got to the point where guests at a BBQ or around the fire pit would ask what smells like vomit. Maybe I was doing something wrong, I don't know.

I spread them out very light and evenly because of the smell if they're in a big pile. They're all over my yard/flower beds.

 

[brewprint]

After making a loaf or two of grain bread, I give the rest to a friend with chickens, and they also make dog treats with them.

What's your recipe here and how many grains are in those two loaves?

 

[soccerdad]

Backyard chickens are kind of a thing right now. The wife has 11 birds that give us about 5 or 6 eggs a day. So if you have a neighbors with birds ....

I tend to feed them about a pound hot and fresh on brew day and put 10 or so pounds in one pound packs in the fridge .. great treat. When we let the birds out to run a bit they can be lured right back to the coop with a pound of spent grain. Bigger yogurt or cottage cheese containers work great to store them, so we are not feeding plastic bags to the landfill. If not kept cool they will get stinky, but my daughter's pigs love them fresh or stinky.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

Yard debris bin and eventually super-cool fuzzy mold and fly orgy fairgrounds.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

What's your recipe here and how many grains are in those two loaves?

This double recipie has 1 cup moist spent grains, which seems to be a good amount for most people. I have used as much as 1cup for one loaf but it was too much for hubby. You certainly can add more, just remember to adjust the water down about 1Tbs per half cup grains. The recipe is here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showpost.php?p=7856332&postcount=1547

There is also a spent grain bread thread on the forum. If you visit you'll find that many people have many different approaches, this one works for me and isn't so time consuming. Enjoy.

 

[day_trippr]

I dump spent grains in our compost pile, which invites all kinds of critters (there's quite a menagerie out here in the boonies).
This time of year the deer get to it pretty quickly...

Cheers!

 

[tallfirbrew]

I've made great bread, you can dry it and grind it into flour, dried works good for bird feed as well. Chickens or just wild birds. Deer love them, as do cows, pigs, horses.

 

[Jimbodaman]

I'll make dog treats if we're getting low but mostly I just dig a hole and cover back up (to keep dog out).

 

[YeastFeast]

Dog treats:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.deschutesbrewery.com/dogs-life-ruff-spent-grain-dog-treats/amp/

 

[z-bob]

Dog treats:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.deschutesbrewery.com/dogs-life-ruff-spent-grain-dog-treats/amp/

That looks like the recipe I use, but I use cheap peanut butter from Aldi instead of fancy PB. Last time I added a pinch of garlic powder. Sometimes I have to add a little water to get a workable dough. And, I put them on a food dehydrator to turn them into rocks instead of baking them for so long.

I have a bag of grain in the back of my pickup from Saturday (to keep it cold) that I need to do something with before the squirrels and birds and raccoons find it and tear up the bag...

 

[Homercidal]

I guess i have to turn the heat down and cook longer to dry them out. Maybe lay down some parchment paper to make them peel off easily. I was going to use it last time, but I thought we were out (We weren't, the wife just moved it for some strange reason...)

 

[pshankstar]

I made dog treats with them once, but I should look into it again. Or like one person said, place a scoop into the food bowl for them too. We have some friends who have chickens or friends of friends with chickens, so one of them usually take them. The last resort is into the wooded area at the back of my property. I'm sure the critters get to the spent grains.

 

[sbartelski]

What's your recipe here and how many grains are in those two loaves?

https://www.homebrewsupply.com/learn/making-spent-grain-bread.html

This is the recipe that I use, and after trying a couple of other ones, including drying and milling, this is the tastiest and easiest to make. In fact, now after every brew I will make three freezer bags, each with three cups of wet spent grain. Straight into the freezer, then when my wife makes bread we will take out one the thaw about four or five hours prior. Note that the three cup portion makes two reasonably large loaves. But don't worry, they don't last long.

Stefan

 

[mashinary]

I put mine in the garbage can, and then imagine seagulls at the dump enjoying them... Kaaakkaaaaakkaaaaa...

 

[geo1976]

I trade my buddy spent grains for eggs, his chickens love them. Then i dry some grind it in the food processor and make dog treats.

 

[indymedic]

The chickens love brew day too! Every other brewday or so I keep enough to make a couple batches of dog treats.

 

[kh54s10]

I dump them in my compost pile. I have never seen any sign that any animal has eaten any. Not birds, not squirrels, nothing. There are probably worms in the more decayed portions.........

 

[TheBeerGuy]

I found a great recipe for dog treats, and my dogs love them. Although I use only about 4 C spent grains from 10-16 pounds. I feed the rest to a local farmers herd, I asked so he doesn't mind!

 

[soccerdad]

I dump them in my compost pile. I have never seen any sign that any animal has eaten any. Not birds, not squirrels, nothing. There are probably worms in the more decayed portions.........

Nuclear winter around your place

 

[rusty_tlc]

Feed for my sons chickens.

 

[kh54s10]

I dump them in my compost pile. I have never seen any sign that any animal has eaten any. Not birds, not squirrels, nothing. There are probably worms in the more decayed portions.........

Nuclear winter around your place

Nope. Been dumping my spent grains in the compost pile for 6 1/2 years. I have never seen any animal of any kind eat them. I haven't even seen any disturbance of them, not even tracks through them. I even put some under my bird feeders once. Not even the squirrels would touch them.

 

[Tiber_Brew]

Just curious, do you just have a spot you pile it up or is it in a compost bin? Also, is it mixed with other stuff or just grains.

For me, (with very limited researched to back up my process), I compost in black 60 gallon plastic bin, along with food scraps, some yard scraps, cardboard, sometimes add soil and use a shovel to "stir" it... ill say weekly but more like whatever i get around to it. I am just bored and curious as to how others do it.

Mine was just a pile, and mostly spent grain. The grain pile got up to about 2.5 ft high x 3 ft diameter, with a few food scraps here and there. It wasn't anything elaborate by any means.

 

[Tiber_Brew]

I spread them out very light and evenly because of the smell if they're in a big pile. They're all over my yard/flower beds.

Perhaps that was why my grain smelled; I just piled them up in the woods on the edge of my lawn.

 

[brewprint]

Perhaps that was why my grain smelled; I just piled them up in the woods on the edge of my lawn.

I've made the same mistake before. It's best to just spread them around lightly.

 

[sbartelski]

I dump them in my compost pile. I have never seen any sign that any animal has eaten any. Not birds, not squirrels, nothing. There are probably worms in the more decayed portions.........

I put them in our compost bin. Next morning the grains look alive since the worms in the bin LOVE the grains

Stefan

 

[UncleMalty]

Chickens love them. My wife would freeze a pound or so in the summer and give then give it to them on hot days. They seemed to like pecking away at the frozen clump of grains.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Today sourdough and spent grain pancakes.

 

[Ozarks Mountain Brewery]

I trash them, they spoil almost immediately where I live 80% humidity most days

 

[brewing_clown]

Compost

 

[Temptd2]

I put ads on Freecycle and Craigslist freebies for them. I put them in 1 gallon ziploc baggies and usually have 4 or 5 folks respond that they want them for their chickens; another guy who likes to make no-rise bread with some of it.

I've made bread, I've dried and ground them (which was a big PITA), and we've put plenty into our big open compost pile. We have "scratch birds" (California towhees, thrashers, etc.) that love to scratch in the pile of grains and eat on them. Otherwise the worms get 'em.

 

[Kent88]

@Hoppy2bmerry recipe please?

I trash them, they spoil almost immediately where I live 80% humidity most days

Have an oven safe cake pan or cookie sheet lined with parchment paper ready to go, and have your oven pre-heating to about 200F when you are sparging. When you put the kettle on to boil (or you just don't have any hop additions coming up for 10 or 15 minutes and you are confident you wont get a boil-over) quick scoop out as much spent grain as you might want to save and put it on the parchment lined pan and put it in the oven. Try to gently mix it up every 90 minutes or so to get even drying.

As long as no one else wants the oven for the next few hours you are free to keep them in the oven in an environment that will prevent bacteria spoiling the spent grain. You can deal with the spent grain as your wort chills, after you pitch yeast, after you clean up, or I've even waited until the next morning to let them dry out almost completely.

 

[jtrentpearson]

Some goes to the chickens, some to the compost and if the dogs are being good boys ill make dog treats out of some.

 

[z-bob]

The last couple of batches, I've just broadcast it on the back lawn. It stinks too quickly if I leave it in one place in the summer.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

@Hoppy2bmerry recipe please?

Sure, I use this basic recipe below, but substitute water for the buttermilk (1/2 cup less) as my starter is tangy enough. I add 1/2 cup of moist spent grains to the sponge after it has developed overnight. Depending on the humidity and moisture of the grains you may add a little more flour. For pancakes I reduce the oil/butter by half. Enjoy.

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/classic-sourdough-waffles-or-pancakes-recipe

 

[soccerdad]

The chickens get all of ours. Fresh and warm on day one, fridge cooled on day 2 and 3, frozen after day 3.