What do you do with the spent grain?

[klfiend]

you can grow some species of mushrooms off sterilized spent grain namely oysters which are very good eatin'. Anyone with a pressure cooker and some quart size canning jars can do it, instructions are just a search away...

 

[BA_from_GA]

+1 for compost, bread, dog treats.

 

[mightynintendo]

I've tried to compost it-thrown on top of the pile...but the deer eat it in a couple of days.

I was going to toss it on top of my hops bed, but knowing the deer like the grains, I don't want to draw their attention to my hops.

I doubt the deer would do much to your hops.

 

[flyerwire]

i made a batch of dog treats and 2 loaves of bread this weekend, fantastic. Dog loves me and the bread was awesome. Still didnt put a dent into my grain. I need everything to thaw so i can start composting again

 

[brewagentjay]

Feed them to my horses....they smell me brewing and stand at the fence and wait....

 

[Randar]

I make bread but can only go through a fraction of the spent grain I output. I have a dual-bin compost-tumbler and that thing chews it up in combination with the lawn/garden clippings. I wish our village let us have chickens, cause I would have someone else who would appreciate the brew byproducts then!

 

[Clayton]

just sling the grain out across the lawn , you dont have to make a compost pile.
its crazy to throw it in the trash if you have a yard , just spread it out thin and it will be gone in no time.

 

[jjones17]

Another composter here, that stuff is like gold in there.

Gah?

I wish I could say the same. I put about 4 batches worth into my compost, and after a few weeks it started to stink like a corpse. I looked into it, and....

It turns out spent grains are a 'green' (which means a higher nitrogen to carbon ratio), so my composted had wayyyyyy to many greens. I had to add like 10+ newspapers, 15 cardboard boxes etc to bring the ratio in line. The story ends good now, since I have a crapload of what will be black gold by june!!

 

[ibbones]

Gah?

I wish I could say the same. I put about 4 batches worth into my compost, and after a few weeks it started to stink like a corpse. I looked into it, and....

It turns out spent grains are a 'green' (which means a higher nitrogen to carbon ratio), so my composted had wayyyyyy to many greens. I had to add like 10+ newspapers, 15 cardboard boxes etc to bring the ratio in line. The story ends good now, since I have a crapload of what will be black gold by june!!

I have been composting mine and they do take a long time. Also the flies LOVE to make woopie and lay eggs. I started turning mine as soon as i added them. Mix them up with the leaves and stuff and it makes a big difference. Keeps the flies down also.

 

[pkeeler]

I give the dog a bowl full, and give the rest to the chickens. Dog gets plenty of eggs anyway, so he shouldn't be too upset.

 

[noble13]

I've made granola with it and will try making the bread. Most of it (and hops from the boil) goes on the lawn.

 

[knownikko]

Grain is lousy for a dogs digestive system...regardless of how much they like it.

Dogs are opportunistic eaters and have simple stomachs that will digest just about anything. Regardless of what the raw foodies will have you believe, small quantities of grain isn't gonna hurt them and certainly isn't "lousy" for their digestive system.

 

[jjones17]

I have been composting mine and they do take a long time. Also the flies LOVE to make woopie and lay eggs. I started turning mine as soon as i added them. Mix them up with the leaves and stuff and it makes a big difference. Keeps the flies down also.

Since leaves are seasonal, I may start a new compost just for my grains and add shredded paper / cardboard to see how quickly it can be made. There is some neat time saving desings, like a cheap garbade can with holes in it... you just rolling around on the ground every day to mix it, apparantly you can get finished compost in a month or two. The grains are slowing down my nearly completed pile so I need another one :fro:

 

[Seabee John]

another composter here... I used to have a loose compost pile out back.... 2 foot tall and about 4 feet wide, almost all spent grain... last winter a day after a good 8 inch snow, I noticed every rabbit in the state seemed to be feeding on it... So, in the interest of sparing summer gardens a larger population, I built a 4 ft cubed box for compost.... the rabbit population seems to have moved elsewhere.

 

[firebird77]

another composter here... I used to have a loose compost pile out back.... 2 foot tall and about 4 feet wide, almost all spent grain... last winter a day after a good 8 inch snow, I noticed every rabbit in the state seemed to be feeding on it... So, in the interest of sparing summer gardens a larger population, I built a 4 ft cubed box for compost.... the rabbit population seems to have moved elsewhere.

Not sure about Minnesota laws, but in PA it's legal to shoot/eat any "pest" rabbit on your property. I'm not saying you should bait them, but if they ever come back to your garden...

 

[Seabee John]

Not sure about Minnesota laws, but in PA it's legal to shoot/eat any "pest" rabbit on your property. I'm not saying you should bait them, but if they ever come back to your garden...

oh trust me, if I lived outside the city, I'd have a new fur coat and a freezer full of meat. But as it stands, I barely have the right to paint the interior of my home the color of my choice let alone any action that might "offend" the neighbors... just call me the "Zul'jin" of Minnesota

 

[Randar]

Not sure about Minnesota laws, but in PA it's legal to shoot/eat any "pest" rabbit on your property. I'm not saying you should bait them, but if they ever come back to your garden...

I don't know if it is allowed in my village (highly doubt it), but I have a pump action pellet gun that is quite effective from my rear glass sliding door, LOL! I would never eat that meat, though, given they are snacking on all the highly fertilized gardens and lawns in the suburbs.

 

[sourmash]

Hot meal for the chickens.

 

[MikeRoBrew1]

For those of you with a compost bin (outdoor or indoor), do you actively buy or maintain a worm population? They are a big help to any compost bin. Not sure how they would do with grains, but like stated above it would probably have to be offset with a lot of newspaper. I was thinking of trying this....

Lovely cluckers!!

Please dont kill animals in your yard.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

I eat it during the boil.

 

[Randar]

I like to bake bread with some portion of it and once my composter is full, I end up putting it in my yard waste bins. I wish my village allowed chickens, as that wouyld at least give me yet another method of reusing it as best as possible.

 

[motobrewer]

i throw mine in the small wooded area behind my house. it's usually gone in a week or two, deer/birds must be eating it.

 

[Northcalais40]

I stand in the snow naked and scrub myself with it like a scandanavian taking a sauna. Chicks dig it.

 

[sacrifice]

I used to put them in the garden, but now I freeze everything and will feed it to the chickens I plan on getting this spring. I also use some for bread.

Maybe some day I will just throw them all in a big pot and see what I can brew

 

[AviatorTroy]

I make dog biscuits, feed the chickens, and whatever is left over goes in the compost bin.

 

[Shinglejohn]

Compost heap! and spent hops keep the rabbits away from the garden.