Spent Grains

[rel322]

I'm finishing my first batch of AG and have a bunch of spent grains. What do you guys generally do with them, other than toss them into the garbage?

 

[paperairplane]

1, Make bread
2. Make dog treats
3. Compost for the garden

 

[rel322]

Make Bread? I mean I know how to make bread with yeast and flour and everything else, but what do you substitute with the spent grains?

 

[jeff13]

Just compost it in my opinion if you don't want to throw them away. The husks just ruin the bread. Dogs can't digest them either. After a few batches you won't feel so guilty about dumping them

 

[s89bunton]

Make bread
BEER BREAD From Spent Grain

Recipe:
3 cups spent grain (wet)
1 cup flour
1 cup warm water
1 tsp yeast
1/4 cup sugar
Use Spent Grain that still has a small amount of sugars still in the grain. Crystal, Munich, Maris Otter, Honey Malt are great malts to use. Stay away from large amounts of Roasted Malts.

Add 1 tsp salt and knead in or mix flour, one cup at a time, until the dough will not stick to the fingers. This will take about 5 additional cups, the amount depending on the water content of the grain. Continue to knead or mix until a silky texture that does not stick to fingers is achieved.

Let dough rise (covered) in a warm place for at least an hour or till it doubles in volume. Then form into loaves and let rise again. When doubled in volume, bake at 375 for 30-35 min. Test to make sure done inside.

Bread Sticks: Roll the dough into bars about 2" in diameter and about 10" long. Bake until Golden Brown.

You can improve on the texture of the bread if you dry the spent grain and grind it up with the flour mill. One cup dry and three cups water works out for the above recipe.

Add Flaked Oats or Flaked Barley to the top of loafs before baking for extra flavor.




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[Auger]

I dump them in the compost pile...then next year they will fertilize my hops!

 

[paperairplane]

That's pretty much the bread recipe I use - it comes out amazing. You really notice how much sugar is left in the grains.

As for dog treats - I just eyeball it together, some white flour, couple eggs and I use canned pumpkin - and add your grains to that. Use enough flour to hold it together. I bake it at 300 for about 1/2 hour and then cut it into dog sized squares - then put in the dehydrator until completely dry and crunchy. My dogs flip out for malted barley.

One compost note - spent grains will ferment - and that stinks pretty bad. The more you can spread it out / mix with other compost the less stinky.

 

[blizz81]

Yeah, my backyard smells like an ethanol refinement plant when the wind catches it just right. I'm sure the neighbors are thrilled about that. One neighbor mentioned passive-aggressively that critters were getting into the corner (which backs up to her corner) and munching them. I would throw them away if they didn't continue draining out. We make bread and dog treats but that's still a pretty small amount compared to the overall.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

I usually dehydrate what I can, and occasionally make dog treats out of them.

Last time I did make granola out of spent grains and some rolled oats. Toss some honey, molasses, raisins, whatever you want in there and let it go in the oven around 200 for an hour. Let it cool and enjoy. Especially good in yogurt.

 

[Snicklefritz]

Here's my recipe:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/spent-grain-bread-to-keep-swmbo-happy.html

 

[b128thopen]

Compost! Adds all sorts of good nutrients to the soil! I even throw the hops in too!

 

[Shuasha]

I don't compost on site, but I do have a city compost bin that I dump mine into. It's way too much to use for anything and it absolutely reeks after a day in the warm weather.

 

[pvault98]

I compost with them and also give them to my neighbor to feed their chickens. In exchange they give me some of their chickens to eat....pretty sweet arrangement.

 

[IslandLizard]

I feed the goats, turkey, and pig at a small local farm. The goats are the real pigs when it comes to spent grain.

But if I've included rice hulls I just compost it. Those hulls are like needles, don't know if they could harm the animals, so playing it safe.

When I know I'll be baking bread, I save a few quart containers. It actually tastes really good in bread when it gets sour after a few days. I use 60-80% spent grain mush and 20-40% flour for a very wholesome bread. All the liquid comes from the grains (wort).

 

[BGBC]

Spent Grain Recipes

 

[cernst151]

First, you should make a parti-gyle. Just rinse the grains in some clean 170 degree water and brew with that. Free beer!

I've tried baking with it but the grains end up being so rough that I've stopped. I compost with them but have had a big problem with the grains attracting flies. I like the idea of using them for animal feed but I live in the city so minimal animals to feed other than squirrels.

 

[IslandLizard]

First, you should make a parti-gyle. Just rinse the grains in some clean 170 degree water and brew with that. Free beer!

I've tried baking with it but the grains end up being so rough that I've stopped. I compost with them but have had a big problem with the grains attracting flies. I like the idea of using them for animal feed but I live in the city so minimal animals to feed other than squirrels.

Maybe when making very high gravity beers. But otherwise, by the time the 2nd sparge is complete there shouldn't be much sugar left. SG of my 3rd runnings are around 1.020-1.030 (max). Depending on volume, a 3rd sparge (4th runnings) may be around 1.005-1.014. It costs a lot of energy to boil those few points down to a decent parti-gyle beer gravity and there won't be much of it.

The trick to spent grain bread is the amount of liquid used. The dough won't be dry, actually at high percentages of spent grain (60-70%) it is so wet, you can't knead it by hand, use a spatula or dough hooks. After rising pour it into very well greased and floured bread forms. Rise again and start baking when it is at the top. I usually bake at least 6 loafs, so it's worth the effort.

And no rice hulls, of course. They are rough.

 

[user 141939]

Do you know anyone with chickens? Chickens love it.



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[seph]

I live on three acres that abuts state conservation land. I just dump my grain in the back yard and the deer will come munch on them if they are fresh in the summer, and they will dig through the snow in the winter to get to them.

 

[Gunfighter04]

If you compost them and have problems with the smell, rake them flat as possible, it's the moisture retention that causes the fermentation. Of course that fermentation helps break down the grains at a much faster rate. Optimum is to put a bit of straw over a layer of grains, then repeat. The go out and flip the whole pile periodically.
My dad had one of these:

I thought they were a gimmick until I talked to him after a while of use. They really work well and will keep the neighbors happy and keep the smell down.

Personally I have Deer, Turkeys, squirrels and rabbits waiting patiently for my brew weekends.