Feeding used grains from beer making

[Bayle]

I am so happy to see more home brewers here and thanx for all the info. I am sure my girls will love the next batch. I have a Irish Red Ale almost ready to bottle and a American Standard Bitter up next.

 

[wood&feathers]

I remember a fellow from the Bluegrass Irish Society (my parents helped found it, around 1977 I think?) named Pearse Lyons. He was a chemical engineer with training as a brewer. He is now a multimillionaire from weaving together animal feed production, brewing supplies and such. Other Kentuckians have probably heard of Alltech right? You would be surprised how much of commercial animal feed is byproducts of fermentation.

 

[xanxer82]

I am so happy to see more home brewers here and thanx for all the info. I am sure my girls will love the next batch. I have a Irish Red Ale almost ready to bottle and a American Standard Bitter up next.

I have ten gallons of red ale going now. 5 of honey red and 5 of irish red. Made bread with the grains.

 

[DMRippy]

I get my spent grains from a local brewery. I get 3, 5 gal buckets every time they brew (1-3 time a week) and some times the other farmer does not show and I can have 3-4 30 gal trash cans of grains..... I can't really handle that.... goes in the compost pile. Tried to give it to neighbors that have goats, chickens, donkeys, cows... they will not eat it. My chickens tend to leave the barley in the feed bucket but some will eat most of it. They do like it wet. I will heat it up and add more water and it is gone the next day. I mix it about 40% with layer feed. I may freeze it in the summer. We had some feed get wet and freeze the other day and I tossed it in the pen and they loved it.... must have been like a new toy.

I dry mine on door screens with fans. I made a rack for the screens so I can stack them. In the winter it takes me 2-3 days to dry it and I am hoping in the summer that will speed up, cuz I think I will get more grains in the summer too. We have made a way to strain the water off the grains before we dry them. That has cut down on the dry time.

Question for you brewers.... where do you get your grains to brew with?

 

[xanxer82]

I get my grains from the local homebrew shop for now. I have a friend that has a farmette. He's planning on growing grains in the spring and we'll malt them ourselves.

I get my spent grains from a local brewery. I get 3, 5 gal buckets every time they brew (1-3 time a week) and some times the other farmer does not show and I can have 3-4 30 gal trash cans of grains..... I can't really handle that.... goes in the compost pile. Tried to give it to neighbors that have goats, chickens, donkeys, cows... they will not eat it. My chickens tend to leave the barley in the feed bucket but some will eat most of it. They do like it wet. I will heat it up and add more water and it is gone the next day. I mix it about 40% with layer feed. I may freeze it in the summer. We had some feed get wet and freeze the other day and I tossed it in the pen and they loved it.... must have been like a new toy.

I dry mine on door screens with fans. I made a rack for the screens so I can stack them. In the winter it takes me 2-3 days to dry it and I am hoping in the summer that will speed up, cuz I think I will get more grains in the summer too. We have made a way to strain the water off the grains before we dry them. That has cut down on the dry time.

Question for you brewers.... where do you get your grains to brew with?

 

[RaZ]

I homebrew and make wine as well. What spent grains I don't use for bread, I'll feed the chickys. Good info!

I've been home-brewing for 15 years or so. I never thought of using the spent grain for making bread.
Is there anything special or different you do to use the spent grain? I make my bread in a bread machine when I make it, if that makes any difference.