Spent grains for dog?

[jeffpn]

I always thought hops were bad for dogs?

Toxic = bad

But the 18th post? My over/under on that was about 3! I was surprised it took 18 posts for that to come out.

 

[Yooper]

Found this on the internet. My neighborhood dogs and mine love these. Mildew in an hour? I guess I’ll believe that one later.

Dog Biscuit Recipe

(yields 40 medium-sized biscuits)


Ingredients

4 cups spent grain

1 cup peanut butter

2 cups flour

2 eggs


Step by step

1. Mix the ingredients together and press the dough onto parchment or wax paper, about 1⁄4 thick.

2. Cut the pressed dough into shapes with a cookie cutter or using a knife.

3. Place the treats onto parchment paper on cookie sheet and place in a 350 °F (177 °C) oven.

4. Bake at 350 °F (177 °C) for 30 minutes.

5. After 30 minutes, drop the oven heat to 225 °F (107 °C) and bake for two hours. When the treats come out they should be dry and crunchy so they do not spoil/mold. If they are not dry after two hours, increase time at 225 °F (107 °C). You want to dry them, but not

cook them to the point where they are hard to break.

I make mine even easier- I just mix the spent grain and peanut butter with an egg, adding more if needed to be able to stir it and have it stick together, then drop with a spoon on a cookie sheet and press it to form a kind of dog biscuit shape. Then I bake at 300 for about an hour or so (so they aren't burnt at all, but fairly hard), then turn off the oven and open the door.

I'll admit that my dog isn't very discriminating but he loves them and actually sits by the oven when I make them. I think it's the peanut butter that makes him really go crazy for them.

I also mix spent grain in with his regular food. I freeze it right after the mash, in medium tupperware bowls, and pull a bowl out every few days. He loves the spent grain as well.

he's a 12 year old yellow lab, so he's a chow hound anyway.

 

[Nosybear]

Hey. I know this issue has been around since the first ever batch of beer... ever.

What do you guys do with your spent grains?
Baking?
Animal feed?
Dog food? Maybe dog food? Perhaps mixed with vegetables and raw, fatty meat?

We can't give it to farmers, as all livestock feed producers must be registered and verified.

I'm thinking of making a beef porridge for my dog. What do you think?View attachment 2566

Compost. Or just work it into your garden soil. Worms and especially the bacteria they feed on love the stuff.

 

[Head First]

Toxic = bad

But the 18th post? My over/under on that was about 3! I was surprised it took 18 posts for that to come out.

I know I know it has been said a gazillion times but if I save one person with a dog the heartache then oh well. Was suprized it hadn't been said yet myself. Was thinking of hops in the mash cause i just did that a batch ago.

 

[Nosybear]

Toxic = bad

But the 18th post? My over/under on that was about 3! I was surprised it took 18 posts for that to come out.

Someone must be trying mash hopping.

 

[Hawkbox]

I don't hop my mash so it didn't occur to me to mention it.

 

[Yooper]

I don't hop my mash so it didn't occur to me to mention it.

I do sometimes. I used to years and years ago, when hops were like 25 cents an ounce, and sometimes now when I have tons of hops (I grow 7 varieties) I still do it. That's when I make sure to not save those grains for the dog!

 

[skyblue67]

It is silly, but to my understanding it's a common requirement in Europe (EU) as per the European Feed Hygiene Requirements EC 183/2005. Perhaps something to do with all sorts of Bovine diseases in the near history. We could pass the grains to farms if we would register as "feed business operators" and operate in accordance to Hygiene Requirements.

We'll probably find other ways to deal with the grain...

Now about those dog treats. Do you have a recipe to share?

Every brewer I know gives their spent grain to livestock farmers.

Alternatively I recently had some bread and flapjacks made by a homebrewer from spent grain, but he dried it first.