More Breweries And Distilleries Upcycle Spent Grains To Reduce Food Waste
As craft breweries and distilleries proliferate, spent grains continue to pile up. Despite being organic waste products, spent grains are high in acidity and bio-oxygen demand, so they aren’t easily disposed of, even in cities with large wastewater treatment plants. Fortunately, spent grains still contain valuable nutrients, and drink-makers have long partnered with farmers to make use of them as nutritious feed for cattle, hogs, chicken, fish and other animals. Kentucky’s Bardstown Bourbon Company gives away about 107,000 gallons a day to local farmers, who come pick it up for free. On a smaller scale, Colby Frey of Nevada’s Frey Ranch Estate Distillery, gives his spent grain to a neighboring farm as cattle feed, while liquids from the spent grain go into the farm’s irrigation system to balance the soil’s pH levels.
Spent grains can also be upcycled in the baking industry. In Toronto, the Spent Goods Company works with bakeries to repurpose spent grains as baked goods sold in grocery stores, farmers markets, schools, and restaurants. California’s ReGrained company transforms them into snack puffs and bars, and pasta maker Barilla recently invested in the company to expand its product line. Rise Products in Brooklyn takes spent grains from local breweries and turns them into light and dark barley flours. A number of New York City restaurants use the barley flour in pasta, granola and brownies, and food companies like Kellogg’s, Whole Foods, DiGiorno and Nestlé have all asked for samples of the flour for use in its products. Look for more products made with spent grains hitting supermarket shelves soon.
