Spent Grain Dog Treats: Brew Grains to Bark Gains

I’m Trent Musho, and this is The Bru Sho. Let’s make some nutritious dog treats with our spent brewing grains.

Recipe & Transcript: If you’re an all-grain home brewer, you often have a large quantity of spent grains after brew day. But what do you do with them?

Today we’ll look to man’s best friend for the answer.

At the end of a brew day you’re left with a bucket of grains. An easy option is to throw them in the compost. However, there are many other things you can do with the grains. Breweries will often donate their grains to local farms, but on a small scale, I have another idea for our animal friends at home.

These dog treats are simple to make and also inexpensive. And the best part is that, you know, every ingredient that’s going in. Let’s jump into the recipe.

Before we get baking, go ahead and preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 177 degrees Celsius. This recipe can easily be scaled up to accommodate any size dog and however many treats you want.

To start, we’ll need one cup of spent grains from a brew day. The sooner you make this recipe after the brew day, the better as the grains will start to go bad.

But if you can’t make it the same day, you can refrigerate the grains in an airtight container for up to one week.

The next point is extremely important. Whatever you do, do not use grains that have been mashed with hops. Hops are extremely toxic to dogs.

So if you’re doing your normal mash of grains, that’s fine. But if you put hops in your mash, it can no longer be used for this recipe.

Next I mix one tablespoon flax meal with three tablespoons water. This will act as our binder or egg replacement. Flax meal is relatively inexpensive and will last you a long time.

It’s great to have on hand for vegan bacon. You can leave this ingredient out, but it does help the treats hold their shape.

While that sits and thickens for about five to 10 minutes, I add a half cup of whole wheat flour and the grains into a bowl.

I then add a quarter cup of organic peanut butter. My dog and I both love peanut butter. One of our favorite foods. Hey, Willow, should I make a peanut butter beer?

Now we can pour the flax binder mixture into the bowl and stir it up. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty and make sure it’s well-mixed. You’re looking for a consistency of cookie dough.

After all the ingredients are combined, roll the dough out to one fourth to one half inch thickness. You don’t have to be too precise, but if you make them thicker, just be sure to give them a little extra time in the oven. Feel free to add more flour to your board if it’s sticky.

Using a cookie cutter or knife, create whatever shapes you like. You can get creative and hand shape them as well. Next, place them on a cookie sheet and pop them in the oven.

Parchment paper will help them from sticking. The treats need to bake for 30 minutes.

What do you do with your spent grains? Any recipes I should try? Let me know in the comments (on youtube).

Here are: 18 Awesome Spent Grain Recipes for Your Baking Needs

After 30 minutes, reduce the heat to 200 degrees Fahrenheit or 93 degrees Celsius. The goal now is to just dry them out. This can take anywhere from one to two hours, depending on the thickness of the treat.

Checking on them every now and then to see where they’re at. And when they feel dried out and hard, they’re ready. Pull them out and once they’re cooled, they’re ready for your dog to enjoy.

If you’re brewing all grain and you have a dog at home, there’s no reason for you not to make these treats. Your puppy is going to love them and love you even more because of it.

Anytime I can find a way to reuse something, I would otherwise toss and it’s something my dog benefits from. I call it a win-win.

Just remember to store them in an airtight container and the last for several weeks. That’s if your dog doesn’t eat them all first. Bone Appetit.

If you make the spent grain dog treat recipe, I’d love to know and see how your dogs enjoyed them. Tag me on Instagram @thebrusho.

Thanks for watching.