Uses for used grain?

[mrbobble]

What's everyone do with their used grains? Deer and a stinky addition to my garden dirt are all I've done. What do you guys do?

 

[McMalty]

make dog biscuits. there's several recipes floating around on this site

don't have a dog? get one

 

[D_Struct]

My wife makes dog biscuits.

There are also some bread recipes on here utilizing spent grain, I believe.

 

[bob1852]

Give them to a friend who raises chickens and turkeys. Then I get fresh eggs back in return.

 

[mrbobble]

All cool ideas! Thanks everyone!

 

[Pappers_]

Great in a compost bin!

 

[ellisonsj]

I gave some to my mom to make bread with and she used some to make chocolate chip cookies too. They turned out awesome!

 

[jeepinjeepin]

I made dog biscuits last night and bread this morning. The bread was horrible. The dog biscuits are ok, but the dog really likes them.

 

[dallasdb]

Great in a compost bin!

I thought I read somewhere not to compost grain because it develops mold that can harm your garden.

Anyone else heard this?

 

[mrbobble]

I thought I read somewhere not to compost grain because it develops mold that can harm your garden.

Anyone else heard this?

Man it sure smells like it would be bad for something

 

[tim404]

I thought I read somewhere not to compost grain because it develops mold that can harm your garden.

Anyone else heard this?

I compost mine with no problems. Just gotta be sure to have a good mix of grains (carbon), kitchen scraps (nitrogen), and already composted material (think of it like a starter...).

Too much carbon will make it mold. Too much nitrogen will make it smell like the devil's outhouse. A good mix will make it smell like rich earth and, eventually, that's what it will become.

The good news is that the rule of thumb (if I'm not mistaken) is 2 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen, and that's about what I produce. If you have an active microbe community in your compost heap, they will break these grains down fast.

 

[MazdaMatt]

There's nothing wrong with a little mold in the composter. It will die and be composted itself. Grains turbocharge my composter. Toss them onto a pile of greens and in a few days it is a black mess.

 

[Pappers_]

There's nothing wrong with a little mold in the composter. It will die and be composted itself. Grains turbocharge my composter. Toss them onto a pile of greens and in a few days it is a black mess.

That's my experience, also. And in our compost bins, after a few days, they don't even smell. Works quickly.

 

[caiafa]

You can grow mushrooms on it. Or add it to some home made soap.

 

[geezerpk]

Adding them to my composting seems to have given the compost a big boost in its worm population. More worms mean quicker and richer compost. I have no scientific proof that the worm increase is from the spent grains, and the worms, they ain't talkin'.

 

[BrotherJoe]

I rake mine into the yard; it makes outstanding grass patch!

Each brew I sort of pick an area that's looking a little downtrodden and rake in the spent grains. If you rake them thin, they don't stink, they just dry out. If you leave them in a big warm pile...not so much.

It beats composting, and, I can tell exactly where I spread the grains after a few weeks; the grass is thicker and greener, it tingles so it must be working.

J

 

[VonMessa]

I throw mine into a pile at the end of the garden. Next time I mow the lawn, I throw the clippings on top. In the fall, it's the leaves from the tree.

Rinse and repeat

 

[samc]

I'd been tossing it in the garden until recently when I noticed that my neighbors Rat problem started to become a problem for me. Since I stopped putting grains in the yard the Rat sightings have stopped.

 

[November]

Chickens and goats love it.

 

[Mysticmead]

bread, cookies, crackers, dog treats, deer feed, chicken feed, compost.... it works great for everything!

 

[redcoat_or_rebel]

make sure your compost is getting sun to dry it out a little.

 

[gregger]

Give them to my friend who feeds them to her chickens. They LOVE that stuff.

 

[heckels]

There was just an article in zynergy on this...haven't had a chance to read it yet but I saw a pic of dog biscuits

 

[schrod]

My wife feeds it to her horse in small doses, beats buying treats.

 

[BendBrewer]

I give it to a friend that uses it to feed wild turkeys and deer on his property. I'm sure the bear gets some too.

He likes to put it right under the Deer Stand. See you in August!

 

[wreals]

My wife has figured out that brewing = more grain for her garden. So it's into the composter or into an area of the garden that needs more organics and it beats just throwing it away.

 

[BendBrewer]

I started putting my grain into my compost pile until it turned into a grain pile after 3-4 batches.

 

[Stevo2569]

I give it to a friend that uses it to feed wild turkeys and deer on his property. I'm sure the bear gets some too.

He likes to put it right under the Deer Stand. See you in August!

+1 I put them near my deer stand. They love it apparently. It's gone by the next day

 

[passedpawn]

Dog biscuits. Turned out great for me.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/sp...friend-cookies-87097/index19.html#post2876122

 

[Sweetchuck]

Fill up the pool, dump them in and invite all the ladies in the neighborhood over for a spent grain mud wrestling tourney.

Post pics after you do.

 

[heckels]

+1 I put them near my deer stand. They love it apparently. It's gone by the next day

Pretty sure that's referred to as baiting and is illegal...at least in sd.

 

[jeepinjeepin]

It varies by state/animal/season. Sometimes you can hunt over bait. Sometimes you can bait but the bait has to be gone for a period of time before you can hunt there. Sometimes baiting is no go all the way around.

 

[Stevo2569]

Yeh mine too. I don't do during Huntin season.

 

[grace1760]

Can specialty grains used in extract brewing be used for some of these purposes as well?

 

[TripHops]

Well, I have a story you all might like. My sister-in-law came to visit us a few weeks ago when I was making my tangerine wheat beer and since she had never seen anyone home brew before she asked to join me.

I went through all the explanations and she seemed very interested and was intrigued with my mash tun and the smell of the grains. She thought they smelled very nice and asked what I did with the grains after mashing. I told her that I simply tossed them into the recycle bin. At that she said “Are you kidding, why don’t you make some muffins out of them”. I hadn’t thought about that so I said if she wanted to take some home with her she was certainly welcome to fill a baggie or two, which she did.

This past weekend, I got a picture message from her showing the muffins she had made from the grains. She said they were very good. I haven’t tasted them so I can't say one way or another.

But I thought I would post this for you all to ponder. Maybe there is a new market for spent grains.

TripHops

 

[Mysticmead]

Can specialty grains used in extract brewing be used for some of these purposes as well?

grains are grains... doesn't matter if they're specialty or base..

 

[bob1852]

Where's Revvy and his spitting llama spent-grain story?????

 

[RedHouse]

We make bread every now and again, and used to give it away to friends with chickens. We got six hens a few weeks ago, so all the spent grains will get used here now.