Beer fills in the cracks of our human bonds to make them stronger. It gives an elasticity to tested nerves and smooths the wrinkles creased by fraught days. Bristly attitudes subside. Smiles grow and widen. It brings an air of commonality between those of an opposite nature, and rounds the edges of social interaction. It’s only natural to want to apply this magical brew to all of life’s relationships, even with those of other species.
And what species would be more deserving than dogs? Don’t go filling Fido’s dish with ale just yet. It’s extremely important to know hops are poisonous to dogs. That means no brewskies for Doggo. While hops are typically not attractive to canines, the sweet spent grain left over from the mash during the brewing process, is. Spent hops and grain are disposed of after a brew day, ending up in the compost pile or the garbage. If WoofWoof decides to snack on your mixed spent brewing ingredients, the results could be deadly. But there is a way to give your faithful friend what she wants without the unwanted side effects.
The brewing process begins with adding hot water to malt, which can include barley, wheat, rye, and oats, among other grains. After the grains have steeped in the hot water for a certain period of time (called the mash rest), the liquid (wort) is separated from the grains and transferred to the boil kettle. At this time, the grains have been “spent”, or completed their purpose for the brewing process. So long as the spent grains have been kept separate from hops, they’re safe for dog consumption. Spent grains are about 20% protein and 70% fiber, making it an ideal food source for farm animals, or for crafting fine treats for your best four-legged friend!
Spent Grain Dog Treats
Makes: ~45 treats
Prep Time: ~35 minutes
Bake Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
Ingredients:
- 4 cups of spent grain
- 2 cups of flour (+ extra for the counter, rolling pin, and adjusting stickiness of the dough)
- 1 cup of peanut butter (I used creamy)
- 2 eggs
If you’re not a homebrewer, you can easily source spent grain from those that do homebrew, or even from professional breweries. The fresher the better, but you can store spent grain in the fridge for later use for a little over a week.
Other Stuff You’ll Need:
Oven
Big Bowl
Rolling Pin
2 Baking Sheets
Adorable Assortment of Dog Cookie Cutters
Beer (for you)
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Dump all ingredients into a big bowl. Get your paws in there and mix everything thoroughly until you’ve got a nice dough ball. Add flour as needed if it’s too sticky. (I ended up adding another ⅓ cup of flour).
- Separate your dough into three smaller dough balls for easier handling. Pop an extra helping of flour on top of each one.
- Generously flour up your clean, dry counter and rolling pin, and roll that dough ball into a dough pancake.
- Using your adorable assortment of dog cookie cutters (I found mine at the grocery store), cut out as many dog treats as you can, re-rolling the scraps as needed. It doesn’t have to be prefect. Remember, your dog would be perfectly happy eating your spent grain from the compost pile. All the aesthetics listed here are more for you. 😉
- Drink beer (also for you).
- Place the treats on a clean cookie sheet (no need to grease it up) and place in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Clean up and drink more beer.
- When your 30 minute timer goes off, reduce the oven to 225° for an additional 2 hours. This helps dry out the treats so they don’t get moldy in storage.
- Once the treats are dry, allow them to cool, and store them in an airtight container for freshness!
- Sit on the porch with Pooch and enjoy!
It’s no wonder your pup likes to hang around on brew day. He enjoys the smell just as much as you do! Go grab a brew, and whip up a batch of spent grain treats for your buddy.
It’s the closest you can get to (safely) enjoying a beer with your dog!
Carolyn says
So I finally got around to making these yesterday. First, they were a lot of fun to make. I found cute dog bone shaped cutters online. My dog loved them!!! She kept coming back for more and eventually I had to cut her off. I offered some to my neighbors and her dogs love them too. We handed some more out during Trick or Treating if people had their dogs with them and every dog that tried them, loved them. I have 4 more bags of grains in the freezer so once they are gone, my son will need to brew some more beer! Thank you for the recipe!
Lauren Lerch says
Carolyn, I’m so glad the treats worked out for you! I think I’m about due to make another batch, too. 🙂
Lauren
Carl says
Are rice hulls ok in this recipe? I use about a cup in a 10 lb mash
Lauren Lerch says
Hi Carl,
I did some research, and I think some rice hulls in your mash should be fine to use for making spent grain dog treats. Rice hulls are a common “filler” for some dog foods. A few websites recommended against purchasing dog food with rice hulls in them, as they’re not a great source of nutrition for your dog. However, these are treats! Assuming you’re not using spent grain treats to replace your normal dog food, I think they’ll be just fine for Fido. As a disclaimer, I am not a veterinarian, and my opinion is based off of internet research. If you’re unsure, please check with your veterinarian before feeding these to your dog.
Cheers!
Lauren
Carl says
Thanks, on my second batch and they lov’em
Gerry Mercieca says
Finally had a chance to make a batch of these. Our dog loves them. So obviously my brews have more than 4 cups of grain in the mash, so I took four bags with four cups in each bag and put them in the freezer. Do you the grain will be okay for a few months in the freezer?
Lauren Lerch says
Hi Gerry!
I’d treat them like any other grain product you might consider freezing. Do your best to keep the freezer burn off them, and I bet they’ll do just fine for future batches of doggie cookies! I’ve yet to find a finicky dog when it comes to spent grain treats. Let me know how your batches turn out!
-Lauren
laura gregory says
What is the shelf life of the treats in the proper container?
Tom says
I have some about 6 months old and no issue.
Kandycehopp says
So if you’re boiling the spent grain can you not have any hop’s in it ?
Tom says
Hops can be dangerous for a dog, so I have read. I also brew beer, the grains come out of the brew before hops are added.
Cathy Levine says
Why would you boil your grains? They are done once they leave the mash tun. That’s why they are called “spent”. I have never heard of anyone ever boiling their grains. But, no, you cannot give dogs hops.
Tom Rasmussen says
I have made 6 or 7 batches now. We brew about once per month. Every dog that has had these absolutely loves them. My wife says my dog loves the ones from a Pumpkin Porter the best. While I haven’t tried them myself, one of my brewing buddies also likes them. Nothing in them that humans can’t have. 😊
Veronica says
Hello,
Does the spent grain need to be dried out (dehydrated) or can I use it wet when it’s fresh out of the mash tun? Thank you!
Lauren Lerch says
Hi Veronica,
There’s no need to dry the spent grain. You can use it fresh out of the mash tun if you like! I’d only recommend allowing the grain to drain out a little bit so it doesn’t make super sloppy treats. 🙂
Lauren
Lauren Lerch says
Hi Mike!
Considering the simplicity of the recipe, I’m not surprised there are others out there identical to the one listed in my post. I have honestly never seen the post made by Deschutes. The recipe listed in my post was a composite of several recipes I looked up and tried. Thank you for pointing that out, though. Hope you were able to try out the recipe and serve them to some happy pooches!
Lauren
Neal says
So basically you admit that you copied several recipes that probably copied Deschutes, gussied them up with some cute quips but ended up with the same recipe as Deschutes?
I know this is done all the time on the internet, but its still incredibly weak.
If you’d acknowledged your sources, explained your methodology and said that you tried this and that but circled back to this recipe we would at least have learned something and you would have contributed to the dialogue.
Just saying…
Abe Lincoln says
I think it’s time for this tiff to become headline news again. Mike, Lauren, Neal, let’s dust off the ole daggers and hash out this knife fight. Oh wait, I need to pass gas and that takes priority over this pissing match. Let’s all go our separate ways and never speak of this again! “Gussied them up” lol smdh just sayin lol.
Janine says
That is so incredibly hostile! Do you just troll the internet so you can attack someone who posted a super simple recipe? This is not a term paper or a master’s degree essay. It’s a stupidly simple recipe for dogs. Do you even brew beer? Most brewers I know are pretty chill people who have some sort of life and don’t feel the need to attack others.
Eric says
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have found *that guy* and we shall call him “Neal.”
Kelsey says
Hello,
I’m a home brewer and was looking into making pup treats for my dogs with my spent grain however I am wondering if the spent grain needs to be dehydrated at all before mixing into the other ingredients to make these treats? I’ve spoken to some companies that make spent grain dog treats who say they dehydrate their grain?
Appreciate any information you can give!
Robertha Cota says
Hi! Should i use the spent grain wet? Right after the mash?
Hank says
I was told of this recipe via another homebrewer. My dog and I were hooked! He enjoys them daily as do my grand dogs. I have started to shared them with the neighbors pets as well. Eleven pounds of grain goes along way!
Mike says
They are in the oven right now. I also like peanut butter and malted barley, So I’ll have one with my dog.
Paulina Sanchez says
Is it necessary to dehydrate the spent grains in a machine (if you have one) previous to making these cookies? Or can the moist spent grains be used directly in the recipe?
Lauren Lerch says
Paulina,
It is not necessary to dehydrate the spent grain before using them for this recipe. As long as they’re not stopping wet, you shouldn’t have any issues. -Lauren
Mariah says
Hi!
Love this recipe! So much fun. Do you typically dry out the grain or just store it in the fridge until you make it (within the week of course).
Also, do you know anything about freezing the spent grain for future use?
Thanks so much!
Pat ODonnell says
I only have dried spent grain left, how can I modify this recipe to use dry instead of wet spent?
Jerold says
If you re not going to use all the grains, you can store them in the refrigerator for later use to ensure they don t get moldy.