Brewer’s grains, the cereal waste obtained when producing beer, are all the rage right now. At Still Good, we’ve known for years that they’re best used AND enjoyed. The secret? We’ll tell you a bit about it today.
Roughly speaking, malt residues, spent grains, accumulate after the beer wort is filtered. Otherwise, you have already understood that brewers end up with impressive quantities of spent grains every month.
It can be consumed as is, but its humidity makes it rather difficult to store. Like other cooked cereals, spent grains can be stored for about a week. That leaves little time to transport and use tens, even hundreds, of kilograms.
The best way to extend their shelf life? Dry them to reduce their water content, thus slowing the proliferation of bacteria.
To do this, spent grains are:
- Dehydrated in a dryer or oven at low temperature;
- Pulverized using a flour mill
An anti-waste ingredient
That’s all well and good, but what do you do with this powder? Ground spent grain flour is a key ingredient in Still Good cookies. But that’s not all.
In fact, it can be used in cooking and baking by replacing part of the wheat flour. Bread, cakes, muffins, granola bars, crackers… you can make whatever you want with it. It can even be added to your morning smoothie.
Depending on the type of recipe, you can add 10 to 20% spent grain without affecting the texture of the final product. This opens the door to lots of great things in the kitchen.
Each cereal has its own flavor
And the taste? What can we expect when we add spent grains to a recipe? The fun part is that their flavor changes completely depending on the mix of grains brewed.
We often talk about a sweet taste of roasted nuts, hazelnut, malt, rye, whole wheat, caramel, etc. Many chefs also note the complexity that spent grains bring to dishes that contain them.
Think about it for a moment. The possibilities for collaborations between breweries and the food industry are limitless.
And the delicacies yet to be imagined are too.
Sources
CHETRARIU, A., et A. Dabija. « Brewer’s Spent Grains: Possibilities of Valorization, a Review », Applied Sciences, 13 août 2020. doi : 10.3390/app10165619.
LYNCH, Kieran M., Eric J. STEFFEN et Elke K. ARENDT. « Brewers’ Spent Grain: A Review with an Emphasis on Food and Health », Journal of the Institute of Brewing, 28 octobre 2016. doi : 10.1002/jib.363.
OLIVER, Jamie. « Spent Grain – Reducing Waste in the Beer Industry », [En ligne], 31 janvier 2019. [https://www.jamieoliver.com/features/spent-grain-reducing-waste-beer-industry/].
SHERMAN, Amy. « Spent Grain Bread Unites Your 2 Favorite Carbs », dans Tasting Table, [En ligne], 1er décembre 2017. [https://www.tastingtable.com/dine/national/what-is-spent-grain-beer-bread].
