Pigs love spent grain, cows love spent grain, chickens love spent grain. You might have found a common theme, farm animals love spent grai n. Some urban breweries are forced to throw their brewers spent grain in the trash as nobody wants to come into town to haul it. Port Washington is surrounded by farmland and countrysides filled with places raising animals. Inventors Brewpub has made two local connections for reusing this commodity that still has lots of nutrients in it. Its a mutually beneficial arrangement. The brewer saves on refuse costs, the farmer saves on feed costs and the animals have another source of nutrients that isn't corn or hay.
Speaking of nutrients, the Journal of Food Science released an article last October that said BSG (brewers spent grain) is considered a rich source of fiber, protein, and phenolic compounds. Why are they important? These phenolics have many functions, such as antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, antiatherogenic, and anti-inflammatory activities.
They also state that adding BSG to animal feed leads to increased milk yields, higher fat contents in milk, and is a good source of essential amino acids. Healthy!
Meet Ginger and her new baby Rocky. This picture was take when Rocky was only a few hours old. Calves are usually weened after 6 months but the milk will be produced with the spent grain and eventually he will get introduced to the barley goodness.
So to Brian and Nate and all the other farmers who pickup spent grain from breweries all over the nation. Thanks for keeping us green! Rocky will appreciate it too.
Prost!
