What do you do with the spent grain (from your mash)??

[Golddiggie]

Since June I've been trading the grain I pull out of the mash tun with someone just down the street. She has chickens, so I give her the bucket of grain, and I'm kept in fresh eggs. It's a double win for me, since I'm both not buying eggs, AND I'm not tossing out the spent grain. Before this we would bag the grain and it would go out for trash pickup. I had thought about dumping it in the woods, but wasn't sure what it would attract. Didn't want any large animals getting used to being fed near the house.

Earlier tonight she brought back the bucket that I use to give her the grain, along with a dozen eggs. Last time I got a dozen for me and another for mom.

I had already been informed about how much the chickens love the post mash grain. Found out more tonight. Turns out they eat the hell out of it when it's available and actually lay larger eggs than normal for the next few days. Who knew?

I did let her know that I'm planning to brew at least one batch this weekend. Might be able to get two done (I'm off Friday and Monday, so nice long weekend for me).

So, what are you doing with the grain after you brew?
In the past I've also made dog treats from a portion of the spent grain. I'll probably do that again with a coming batch (not the ones for this weekend).

 

[Beerstein]

I’m composting my grains. I undecided if composting used is a good idea due to their antibacterial action. Spent grains are def nitrogen rich, and need a lot of carbon to balance it.

 

[Tyler.W]

I compost my spent grains, yeast, and trub. The spent grains do smell like hell for a few days though!

 

[jrgtr42]

I save a bit for baking into pizza dough or bread, and compost the rest. as long as it's into the bin fairly quickly, it doesn't smell too bad. That time I forgot about it for almost a week in the basement, though? hoo-weeee that was pretty damn ripe.

 

[Golddiggie]

Yeah, the grains turning if not dealt with pretty fast (at least during the summer) is why I'm brining the bucket over to them lately. It should swing back to her coming over to get the grains on brew day once summer is over. Even if not, it's no biggie for me to bring them over (less than a minute to get there).

Maybe post move I'll have a garden and can use some of the grain in compost. Then again, I kind of hope I find some people with livestock that I can trade the buckets of grain with. Even if I wasn't trading the grain for eggs, she sells her fresh eggs for less than I would spend at the grocery store. Add to that the fact that they're a hell of a lot fresher, and better. She's planning to get double the chickens she has now for next year.

 

[Beerstein]

Yeah, the grains turning if not dealt with pretty fast (at least during the summer) is why I'm brining the bucket over to them lately. It should swing back to her coming over to get the grains on brew day once summer is over. Even if not, it's no biggie for me to bring them over (less than a minute to get there).

Maybe post move I'll have a garden and can use some of the grain in compost. Then again, I kind of hope I find some people with livestock that I can trade the buckets of grain with. Even if I wasn't trading the grain for eggs, she sells her fresh eggs for less than I would spend at the grocery store. Add to that the fact that they're a hell of a lot fresher, and better. She's planning to get double the chickens she has now for next year.

if you can get eggs on trade, then awesome. Of course I have a bunch of boys and we go through eggs like crazy.

 

[jtratcliff]

Went to the chickens when we had them...
I've offered some to my neighbors with chickens but they've yet to take me up on the offer..

Save some for spent grain bread and spent grain dog treats

Compost the rest..

 

[lumbergh]

Compost. I compost almost all fruit/vegetable scraps.

 

[shoreman]

Compost but in a closed system - I used to just compost in my open piles, but noticed critters were getting into it which can get out of hand quickly. Constant food source for rats, not a good idea.

 

[soccerdad]

Part of my brew day routine is to package them into containers of about a pound each to go in the fridge. Then they go to the chickens. But in the fridge they don't spoil.

 

[TheMadKing]

I compost mine along with most organic scraps about 75 yards from my house and the neighbors so the smell never bothers anyone. Here in Georgia we have very acidic soil and lots of rain and humidity so it breaks down quickly and the volume never gets to be too much. A little compost in my wife's garden every spring gives us a huge summer-long harvest of tomatoes, peppers, beans, potatoes, and squash and blueberries.

 

[jbschuyler]

Compost here too. I mix them in with my grass clipping pile from lawn mowing. I also have signed up for a city program that picks up a big bin every week, but for some weird reason they do not allow spent grains.

 

[MrBJones]

So, those of you who compost, the spent grains count as "greens" (in spite of their color)?

 

[shoengine]

I had chickens, and I brew, but those things didn't Happen at the same time, unfortunately. I throw them in the compost, and sometimes bake bread with them.

 

[Beermeister32]

My office manager makes doggie treats out of my spent grain. Dogs love them!

 

[SMD]

I make dog treats but they dont look that nice! They look like the rejects from the Purina factory.

Then I give the leftovers to my friends chicken coop.

 

[jtgoral]

A small part goes to my bread dough recipe, rest as a mulch or compost.

 

[Beenym88]

I dump mine in the back yard by the woods. I used to save some and make dog treats but they were making my pups gain a lot of weight.

 

[IslandLizard]

I used to make bread with part of the wet spent grains, enough for 3-4 loaves, but haven't done so in the past 2-3 years or so. I usually eyeball it, just add enough flour to give it the right thickness. It's not quite kneadable at that consistency. After rising once or twice just pour the dough out into baking tins, proof and bake. Yummy!

The rest gets composted. It may be considered green, but not sure if it has enough nitrogen content for that.

Caution: Don't try to eat spent grains that have rice or oat hulls in them or oat malt! The mouthfeel is terrible, making it inedible, like a mouthful of razor blades (rice hulls) or leather shavings (oat hulls, oat malt).

 

[Beermeister32]

One other thing - more discriminating dogs prefer richer leftover grains like Oktoberfest or big amber ale recipes over non-crystal batches like Pilsner. So some of the residual caramel notes and sugars still come through a bit with those beers. Not that I’ve ever seen a dog turn one away!

 

[oakbarn]

I have 3 cows. There is no spent grain left after about 5 minutes even with a 30 gallon batch.

We have also used a cup or so in breads.

 

[Tyler.W]

So, those of you who compost, the spent grains count as "greens" (in spite of their color)?

Yes, they are considered a “green”.

 

[Golddiggie]

One other thing - more discriminating dogs prefer richer leftover grains like Oktoberfest or big amber ale recipes over non-crystal batches like Pilsner. So some of the residual caramel notes and sugars still come through a bit with those beers. Not that I’ve ever seen a dog turn one away!

When I make the treats, I typically use the grains from either a porter or stout recipe. I didn't even think much of it, just seemed like a better idea.

 

[Belgian Samurai]

Interesting timing of your question! I freeze mine for baking. I just posted my recipe for the best chocolate chip espresso cookies ever in the "Cooking & Pairing" forum.

The freezer gives you about 6 months to decide what to do with them. I've also made banana nut bread with them, which reminds me I need to find that recipe again.

 

[Dr_Jeff]

I used to dump mine in a flower bed, went out one day and caught my little dog out there eating it, and it was several days old, apparently he had be "snacking" all along.

 

[Beerstein]

I used to dump mine in a flower bed, went out one day and caught my little dog out there eating it, and it was several days old, apparently he had be "snacking" all along.

that’s hilarious. My lab has interest in it. She does want to play in the house when I water the pile.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Pour in vegetable garden, put at base of hop plants.

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Or mix into hole when I'm planting something in the cursed clay soil we have around here.

 

[Oleson M.D.]

Offered the grain to horses...they would not eat it.
Now it goes straight into the city trash.

 

[Guilherme_BR]

My office manager makes doggie treats out of my spent grain. Dogs love them!
View attachment 740268

How is it done?

 

[IslandLizard]

My office manager makes doggie treats out of my spent grain. Dogs love them!

They look yummy! I like the outer texture and that they are thin, not jawbreakers. They must contain a very high percentage of spent grain, me thinks.

How is it done?

Yeah, I'm curious too.
@Beermeister32 Recipe/directions perhaps?

 

[Beermeister32]

I’ll get the recipe from her today and get back...

 

[Golddiggie]

Spent grain dog treats:
2 cups spent grain, 1 cups flour, 1 eggs, 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter. Mix all together in bowl (I use my stand mixer just because). Spread out on sheet pan(s) and score into pieces the size you want. Bake at 350F for 1/2 hour to cook. Remove and break apart. Return to oven set to 200-250F to dehydrate/dry out. Time depends on the batch.

I've made double sized batches before. Easy to do.

 

[Dr_Jeff]

The guy that used to brew with me, would often time take the spent grain, his wife made dog biscuits from it.
She then would sell them in local veterinarians offices.
She cut the into dog bone shapes, he would eat that scraps from what was cut out.
They gave my dogs the shits, so my wife said "no more for the puppies".

 

[BrewChem]

I let the chickens turn them into eggs

 

[Beermeister32]

OK, here is the recipe she is using. Looks a lot like the one above.

Spent Grain Dog Treats
Makes: 45 treats
Prep Time: 35 minutes
Bake Time: 2 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients:

4 cups of spent grain
2 cups of flour (+ extra for the counter, rolling pin, and adjusting stickiness of the dough)
1 cup of peanut butter (I used creamy)
2 eggs
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Dump all ingredients into a big bowl. Mix everything thoroughly until you’ve got a nice dough ball. Add flour as needed if it’s too sticky. (I ended up adding another ⅓ cup of flour).
Separate your dough into three smaller dough balls for easier handling. Pop an extra helping of flour on top of each one.
Generously flour up your clean, dry counter and rolling pin, and roll that dough ball into a dough pancake.
Using dog cookie cutters, cut out as many dog treats as you can, re-rolling the scraps as needed.
Place the treats on a clean cookie sheet (no need to grease it up) and place in the oven for 30 minutes.
When your 30 minute timer goes off, reduce the oven to 225° for an additional 2 hours. This helps dry out the treats.
Once the treats are dry, allow them to cool, and store them in an airtight container for freshness.

 

[Golddiggie]

Mine always come out sticky and wet (probably from the grain being more moist) before baking. So I simply put the mix onto the sheet pan, spread, score and bake for 30 minutes before doing the rest to dry them out. Typically it's enough to go onto to half sheet pans. IME, you can set the oven to anywhere from 200 to 250F for the drying stage. Mine aren't pretty, but the dogs love 'em anyway. Since I doubt they care about the shape, more about the flavors.

 

[beernutz]

Mine goes from the BIAB bag to a garbage bag then into the garbage can.

I tried composting but I think 25 lbs of grain or more each batch overwhelmed the system.

I don't have a garden or friends with farm animals and when I tried spreading grain around the backyard my dogs couldn't stay out of it.

If you have dogs don't let them get into the hops. In the 90s my chocolate lab (RIP Bridgette) got into some spent hops I tossed in my previous backyard and we had to have her stomach pumped.

 

[wepeeler]

Into the woods for the critters.

 

[MaxStout]

Into the woods for the critters.

That's what I do. Spread it along the creek bank behind my yard, the ducks and pheasants clean it up.

I used to compost it in my garden, but the squirrels dig holes all over trying to get it.