Wort in the compost heap

[toxcrusadr]

Yep, good stuff. Mostly dead yeast and stuff that has settled out of the beer after boiling. Most of that is protein, which you want out of the beer because it makes it hazy. The last boiling step coagulates it like cooking an egg so it settles out. I suppose the yeast is high in protein as well. So, great nitrogen for the compost!

Now you done made me thirsty.

[DoubleDogFarm]

I feed it to my ducks.

I'm one of three in a Barley Pop Guild

[img]https://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h300/eric_wa/Metal%20Work/BarleyPopGuild003.jpg[/img]

Eric

[DoubleDogFarm]

It's hard to say, ducks waddle anyway.

They waddle but they don't fall down.

Eric

[brewboy19]

Just a clarification; the wort (wurt) is not the stuff left behind. The wort is the sweet sugar liquid that actually gets fermented. The "stuff" left behind is any solids that were not strained out prior to fermentation (hops, grains, etc....); and the yeast cake on the bottom. Some of the yeast can be dead but it is actually still alive and can be harvested to make new yeast starters. Anyway the stuff is excellent in the compost pile or just when added to garden soil. Sorry, I'm a brewer turned brewer/gardener.

[lorax]

They're talking more about the leavings in the mash tun than anything else. I've always called those the dregs of the wort - and anyway, I keep a bit for yeast, then pull them off for the compost and feed any leftover liquid that might have been left in the bottom of the tun to my bananas.

[toxcrusadr]

brewboy, thanks for that clarification, I missed that when reading the orig. post or I would have mentioned that myself. I believe the old German brewer's term for the sludge settled out from the wort (pronounced 'wert' BTW) is 'trub' (pron. 'troob').

[brewboy19]

That is correct; trub. I couldn't remember when I posted it my mind was blank lol. I wasn't trying to be a home brew snob, just if you tell people you put wort in your garden they would be confused or appalled lol.

[toxcrusadr]

I prefer my compost dry-hopped, with the malty sweetness of non-fermentable sugars.

[DoubleDogFarm]

with the malty sweetness of non-fermentable sugars

Here is a off the wall question. If you are lactose intolerant, should you drink a Nut Brown ale? or any other beer made with milk products.

Eric

[brewboy19]

1) Most people will use 8 oz to 1 lb for 5 gallons

2) I would think that if you are severely allergic, it is best to not drink a milk stout.

3) An easy way around this is to add the lactose with your priming sugar at bottling, and take your grav reading before adding it in.

I would abstain from the Lactose. Although a rough calculation (for 8 oz in 5 gallons) yields around 2.8 grams of lactose per 8 fl oz of beer, which is roughly 1/4 the amount in an 8 oz cup of milk.

[toxcrusadr]

Getting back to the brew leavings, there are actually several different types we've talked about here:

1) Spent grain (if you brew with grains rather than malt syrups. No yeast here, but high protein and fiber. Breweries send this for cattle feed so if you have a pig or a cow... No yeast yet.

2) Sludge settled out of the wort when it cools after boiling. This may go right into the fermenter, at least it does at my house. I think it's mostly proteins. Still, no yeast yet.

3) Yeast settled out after fermentation, left behind when the beer is siphoned (racked) off after fermentation. Probably also high in protein, also a feed ingredient.

All good for the compost!

[DoubleDogFarm]

1) Spent grain (if you brew with grains rather than malt syrups. No yeast here, but high protein and fiber. Breweries send this for cattle feed so if you have a pig or a cow... No yeast yet.

Yes, chickens and ducks too. This is what I was trying to say earlier. Still learning the equipments and language of brewing.

3) Yeast settled out after fermentation, left behind when the beer is siphoned (racked) off after fermentation. Probably also high in protein, also a feed ingredient.

Tox, Have you saved the yeast from this stage for your next batch? Looks like they use a test tube to store it in.

Eric

[brewboy19]

I actually save my yeast from the primary after fermentation, but I use mason jars. You can store it for quit a while in the fridge. You have to go through a little work but its cheaper if you use liquid yeast in viles ($8 about); vs the dry yeast ($1-$5) Usually need to make a starter though.

[DoubleDogFarm]

I actually save my yeast from the primary after fermentation, but I use mason jars. You can store it for quit a while in the fridge. You have to go through a little work but its cheaper if you use liquid yeast in viles ($8 about); vs the dry yeast ($1-$5) Usually need to make a starter though.

Are you telling me its worth the effort to reclaim, only if you use the liquid yeast? Not worth the effort if you use dry yeast?

Starter, I know what this means in sourdough. Not sure in the brewing game.

Eric

[brewboy19]

well, if you use dry yeast its pretty cheap to just buy a new package and save your time. Viles cost $8 or more sometimes. If you want to do it its fine but I was just speaking economically its cheaper for viles if you factor in time and such. If you just like the fun of DYI then its worth it. Basically when I got bored with just kit beers I started adding all these little extras.

A starter is the same idea in beer as in bread. Basically a mini brew. Boil some water and malt extract add yeast and leave overnight with some tin foil covering it, if its going good in the morning add it to your wort.

[M.Clark]

I have a friend who seems to always be brewing something new and lives on the next block over. He is always brining over the spent grain (is that wort?) for me to use in my compost bin. The first batch got a little too hot and killed all the worms. Since then I have been adding more browns and stirring the pile more. It has been awesome. I did not add it to my veggies yet, but the other plants took off with the compost!

[toxcrusadr]

I only brew occasionally, maybe a batch or two per year, because I've moved over into winemaking too. Definitely a moneysaver if you brew using the same yeast type over and over. Just make sure you have a good sterile technique. If anything bad gets going in that culture, it can ruin the next batch too until you catch on. Every time you expose it to the environment there is a chance of contamination with wild yeast and bacteria. Just my two cents - it may work great for you practically indefinitely.

[DoubleDogFarm]

Thanks Tox and Brew,

We try to be sterile were needed. We use Star San and PBW.



Eric

[brewboy19]

Good stuff. I just use bleach water. I make different types all the times so its harder for me to save and use as I jump from lager to ale etc... and need to use different yeast accordingly. Mostly my winter hobby till springtime, but this year I'm planting hops so I may have to make a fresh summer brew.

[toxcrusadr]

I happen to have a hop vine that does very well. Only problem is trying to figure out how much to use. Commercial dried hops with a tested HBU value is easy, but what do you do with fresh non-dehydrated hops and no HBU test? Straying off topic a bit...but I do compost the hop vine every fall when it dies to the ground.

[brewboy19]

you have to do trial and error basically. You can get some info from bigger growers but you can never get exact especially with an heirloom strain without spending a lot of money on testing devices. most people I have talked to just try it and adjust and make 1 gallon batches vs 5 gallon. Like they say om the home brew forum : RDWHAHB (relax don't worry have a home brew).

[lorax]

Speaking as a longtime proponent of fresh-hopping and alternative fresh bittering agents, after about 2-3 batches you'll get a good idea of what your hops will do Alpha-wise - until then, it's trial and error. After a few gallon batches, you'll be able to scale up to 5s without losing the effect.

I've found that fresh heads are slightly stronger ounce for ounce than whole-head dried but weaker than pellet, simply because none of the volatile oils are lost to the dehydration process (and pellet hops are more concentrated due to the process used to make them).