What NOT to Do With Spent Grains

[IXVolt]

Jake our Boston terrier was suddenly dropping these nice fluffy poops-easy to clean up. Upon closer examination it was all barley husks!

Haha, no stuck sparge on that pooch!

 

[Brewitt]

I had a strange spent grain experience for my first all grain. I do worm composting. Worms love things like shredded paper, coconut husks, etc. in addition to non-dairy and meat food scraps. I took the grain out of my wort (brew in a bag) and let them cool. Then I spread a layer over the top of each of my worm composters. Several days later I noticed a nasty smell and when I looked in my worm bins the worms were dead or very sick. One of them i have been able to rescue by mixing it up a bit and feeding more food scraps. The other doesn't seem to be responding well and is pretty much devoid of intact worms. I think the smell is the rotting worm carcasses.

Anyone have any guesses?

 

[erikhild59]

I've noticed some really nasty looking fungus growing on the spent grains I've buried in my garden...maybe its toxic sludge mold on a mission to rid the world of pet worms...

 

[williamnave]

I have a local chicken farmer come get the stuff. I just email them, and leave the grains in a bucket by my garage. Chickens get fed, farmers get free grain, and I've got one less thing to deal with on brew day

 

[Pappers_]

I had a strange spent grain experience for my first all grain. I do worm composting. Worms love things like shredded paper, coconut husks, etc. in addition to non-dairy and meat food scraps. I took the grain out of my wort (brew in a bag) and let them cool. Then I spread a layer over the top of each of my worm composters. Several days later I noticed a nasty smell and when I looked in my worm bins the worms were dead or very sick. One of them i have been able to rescue by mixing it up a bit and feeding more food scraps. The other doesn't seem to be responding well and is pretty much devoid of intact worms. I think the smell is the rotting worm carcasses.

Anyone have any guesses?

I wonder if you put too much grain in - when putting in scraps, generally, I put the scraps in one side of the box, underneath the damp shredded paper on top, not just layers on top.

Sorry about your bins, will you start over, get more worms?

 

[Brewitt]

Wow, I'm amazed to see another worm wrangler on this forum. I put well drained spent grain from 12.5 lbs starting weight into two boxes. I am a low energy worm wrangler. I just dump the stuff on top. It gets a little moldy sometimes but if I occassionally add shredded paper it keeps that down. My worms are always really healthy. However, this time the layer of grain seems to have either smothered them or they just didn't like something in it.

I still have a lot of healthy worms in one of the boxes so I figure when the odor dies down a bit i will go in and redistribute the contents of that bin between the two. I guess I'll just throw away the contents of the dead bin.

 

[passedpawn]

I had a strange spent grain experience for my first all grain. I do worm composting. Worms love things like shredded paper, coconut husks, etc. in addition to non-dairy and meat food scraps. I took the grain out of my wort (brew in a bag) and let them cool. Then I spread a layer over the top of each of my worm composters. Several days later I noticed a nasty smell and when I looked in my worm bins the worms were dead or very sick. One of them i have been able to rescue by mixing it up a bit and feeding more food scraps. The other doesn't seem to be responding well and is pretty much devoid of intact worms. I think the smell is the rotting worm carcasses.

Anyone have any guesses?

Add lime or dolomite. I bet you lowered the pH of your compost too low for the wigglers. Need about neutral, 7.0.

 

[beer-monger]

I am new to all grain so was kinda at a loss as to what to do with the spent grains. some great Ideas here, I don't compost but will try to spread evenly in the lawn. The lawn could certainly use the help and good to know it wont hurt the dog if she gets into it.
My first few AG grains went down the disposal. Needless to say after a $180 Plummers bill to unclog my drain I can add a new item to your list of what not to do with spent grains.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

I dumped them down the disposal once and had it back up in the pipe and clog the non-disposal drain on the other sink basin. That required a little plumbing work to unclog. I also dumped a big pile in the grass once, which killed the grass underneath and brought a ton of bugs.

Never do either of those.

Now I save as much as I have room to make spent grain bread and the rest goes into the trash.

 

[kstatemallards]

Just throw them in the freezer until trash day comes.

 

[Brewitt]

Add lime or dolomite. I bet you lowered the pH of your compost too low for the wigglers. Need about neutral, 7.0.

Great point. Kinda like acid rain. ;-)

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[jroot]

I dump my spent grains on an old vinyl table cloth in the side yard area and spread them out and after 2-3 days this hot Arizona sun dries them out....then bag and dispose in trash. Don't ever leave them in the garage or any enclosed space or that smell will permeate everything in the space for a few days. (Been there done that)

 

[suedagardener]

Spent grains...give to farmers..we appreciate it and our animals love it. I have everything but goats and when thrown to pigs...its a big deal!!!

 

[cluckk]

I sometimes spread them in the flower beds. During one brew, I was teaching my neighbor how to brew, I asked his son to dump the spent grains in the flower bed. Kids, being as literal as they are, simply dumped them in a pile. The next day, walking to my front door it smelled like someone had hidden a body in my flower bed.

 

[TrickyDick]

Great to know about the PIGS! I have an employee who raises them! next brew is going to feed the piggies!!

TD

 

[MMJfan]

Interesting about spreading them in your lawn. I don't have a large backyard and my two labs completely wreck my grass by the end of every summer. I'll have to give spreading spent around my grass a try.

Right now, I just have a piles in my garden area.

 

[jrot]

I threw some in my back yard this summer and booyyyyy did that smell like death.

 

[techbrewie]

Isn't a landfill just a GIANT compost pile


I now may have to just start throwing mine in the garbage on principle

You sir win at life.

 

[patthebrewer]

composted with everything else makes great fertilizer........My golden loves it though and I always get the WTF look from her when I put it in the compost pile. so I have to save a little for her

 

[Johnnyhitch1]

Ive cooked a bunch with spent grain. Breads, cookies, granola, grain flour for cakes and doughs.

Old lady says the dog gets no spent grain treats though. Woundering what people thought about this.
I understand the no grain fillers in dry food for the pooch that are useless to pay for
Didnt think they meant to cut out 100% grain from there diet....at least in a small bite size snack 1-2 times a day

Learned the easy way spent grain smells like dead carcass when i visited the local brewery wanting to smell the grain (extract brewer at the time). Lets just say i didnt make it within 5 feet of the bin.

 

[FATC1TY]

I dump mine on the hill of the side of my house- I don't ever smell it, and it keeps the people and dog out of my backyard/side yard.. I live on the corner and they like to come in the yard and get my dogs all worked up!

 

[Frogmanx82]

A groundhog hole is my spot. Not sure if he eats them, but that hole will never be filled up.

 

[DrunkleJon]

I have a large stump and hole that I am trying to get to rot. I put fireplace ashes and grains in it. It is also a never filling hole. Hopefully the moisture that is retained by the rotting grains and damp ashes promote the rot.

 

[Skarekrough]

The local deer population love it. I have a nice secluded spot in my backyard that I dump the tun out into. Usually in a day or two they're all gone.

 

[andysim]

Deer near my house stick their nose in it but don't eat.

My dog ate some out of a week old pile in our woods and puked it all over the house. I wasn't' home, so the SWMBO had to clean it up.

 

[kombat]

I simply double-bag mine in garbage bags and it goes out with the weekly pick-up.

 

[wheathead]

Give mine to the neighbor to feed his chickens.

 

[smokinop]

I give mine to a buddy who has a compost bin. He brings me vegetable's & wine!

 

[ToV]

I fear the spring thaw. My tumble composter is full and will be placed on the garden come spring. Now compost is being stored in a trash can that freezes. I already have 2 brews in the the trash can, will probably have two more by the end of the month. The smell will be pretty bad when the can unfreezes.

I plan on moving in a year or so and one of the things I need to do is build up a sizable enough compost bin/pile that it doesn't freeze in the winter and stays active.

 

[suedagardener]

give them to a farmer!~!!