[lornemagill]

avoid letting dogs get at things with hops.  it can cause malignant hyperthermia and can be deadly, especially to large dogs.  it was like crack to my beagle.

[realbeerguy]

I give mine to my buddy, a local farmer to use in his compost pile.  He in turn gives me some land to grow hops.  Win, win.

[Delo]

go online and order yourself some black soldier fly larvae. They will eat that grain up in no time.

Are these hard to get in your compost pile naturally? I must be pretty lucky because I get them every year.  They definitely do their work on grain and are pretty gross.  I will never forget the first time I turned the pile and saw all those big suckers wiggling around.

I thought about starting a earthworm colony for composting purposes. I wonder what spent grain would do to them?

The worms love the grain in my compost bin, I would think they would in a worm colony. It may be hard to keep the colony from going anaerobic though.

[morticaixavier]

go online and order yourself some black soldier fly larvae. They will eat that grain up in no time.

Are these hard to get in your compost pile naturally? I must be pretty lucky because I get them every year.  They definitely do their work on grain and are pretty gross.  I will never forget the first time I turned the pile and saw all those big suckers wiggling around.

I don't really know. I also got them naturally last year, although I havn't seen them yet this summer. perhaps in the winter. I know you can buy them on line. and you can also buy devices for keeping them in. It's like a composter but with special adaptations so you can collect the larvae as they leave the pile for easy feeding to your birds or what have you. but if you get them naturaly good on ya.

[Delo]

That's funny. I just saw them for the first time this summer this weekend. I added grain two fridays ago from that brewday and when I went to add our normal compost scraps this weekend, the pile was full of them.   I usually have them earlier.  It may be because it's been such a strange weather year.

[kylekohlmorgen]

I bury mine in an empty flower box, along with grass clippings (and *occasionally* a dumped batch of beer).

Keeping a bit of soil on top of it definitely slows down compost production, but I'm not really in any hurry and it's what I have.

Its turns into rich, dark, soil by the next spring. I use what I need and start the process over.

[tankdeer]

The city of Portland composts mine for me. What doesn't go to the chickens that is. 

[DrewG]

Just chuck mine into the hop garden. 20 batches so far this year. I spread it around so it doesn't get stinky

[brewmasternpb]

I've had a pretty productive Compost heap for about 6 years now, and spent grains bring so much good bacteria to the compost, you just have to stir it frequently.

[PeckerWood]

Oh man, the pine trees in my back yard must have a thousand pounds of spent grain over the years and it looks like nothing but pine needles; so it decomposes very quickly.  So either make a compost pile, find a dog treat recipe, or even go as far as finding a local farm, as do most breweries.  They give them the spent grains.  My local brewery has a truck that picks up the grains and in return, cut them a deal on a good price for organic beef.  Or just keep throwing them out and they'll decompose in a landfill. 

[TrippleRippleBrewer]

I thought about starting a earthworm colony for composting purposes. I wonder what spent grain would do to them?

I compost mine in my garden and when turning over the soil under the grains, it is LOADED with worms. Others here mentioned the septic issue of piles of grains and I just ignore it because it's not an issue for me. Flies lay eggs in it and they hatch. Deer have been munching on the pile this fall for the first time too. It's great stuff for the soil, bugs, and animals and it makes great compost too.

[redbeerman]

I have a drum composter.  They go in there with everthing else that rots well.

[Slowbrew]

I just broadcast spread them across the back of my lot using a homer bucket and my brewing spoon.  They disappear into the lawn.  No issues with smells or anything.  Sometimes in the Spring, if I did a lot of brewing before the snow melts, I get some piles that get a bit ripe.  One pass through with the lawn mower and it spreads them all out again.

Paul

[micsager]

I've said before that we save it in buckets for a local pig farmer.  Well, the last time she dropped off buckets, she forgot the lids.  So, this past Friday night we brewed, and I put the buckets full of grain outside the garage for pickup.

Get up Saturday morning, and 7-8 deer are loving it.  They had spilled over one bucket and about finished it, and two of them were fighting over access to the other. 

I nice 3x4 was there.  Too bad rifle season ended a few weeks ago.........   

[neemox]

In addition to all these other brilliant ideas, I'd like to point out that depending on the grain bill, you can make people treats as well as dog treats. I make a spent grain sour dough loaf that is really delicious as a breakfast bread. If you have a flower mill, you can let the grains dry and mill them with your wheat to make multi-grain flower (although not as rich after the mash. Still delicious.) And I make granola bars for my girlfriend and I using the spent grains, some honey, peanut butter, and some fresh oats. Lay them out on a baking sheet and cook them just long enough for everything to be cohesive.

I not everyone will agree, but I think the toasty maltiness really goes well in alot of baked goods, and I'm always experimenting with new ones. There are several recipes available online, but I'd say anything that has flower or grain in it, you can mix in some spent grain for flavor and texture.