Drying your Spent Grain

dried spent grain
spent grain

Most of the recipes I’ve developed and post on this site call for dried spent grain. Spent Grain (abbreviated here as SG) is the malted barley used in brewing beer. Once the sugar is extracted and added to the wort, the used up malt becomes Spent Grain. I like to include it in a variety of recipes to help avoid wasting it. Drying your SG will help it keep longer, since wet grains are only good for a few days before they spoil. 

Method:

Turn your oven to the lowest setting, which should be somewhere around 200F. 

Spread the spent grain out on at least one baking sheet (with a rim!), making sure it’s evenly distributed, and no thicker than 1/2″.

Bake in the oven, stirring every 20-30 minutes, until the grains are dry. The total time will depend on how wet the grains were, but usually takes a couple of hours. When the grains are no longer sticking together, and feel completely dry (don’t burn yourself), it’s done. 

I store my spent grains in an airtight bag in the freezer, which also helps keep them relatively fresh.

 

One Comment Add yours

  1. Mark says:

    I’ve done 2 experiments with my spent grains. The first batch I dried in the oven using these directions, then ground them with a mortar and pestle and used them to make a whole grain bread. It was great, I highly recommend it.

    The second time, I tried to referment them. I remashed them with hot tap water and about a cup of white sugar. When it was cool, I pitched some distillers yeast and let it ferment for about 10 days. When I tasted it, it was horrible. Like making coffee from used coffee grounds. Then I distilled it and it was pretty good. Sorry of like grappa being made from the left overs after the grapes have been pressed for wine.

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