Ever wondered what happens to all those grains used to make Eruption ales after the brewing process has finished? One 1500 litre brew uses around 200 kg of malted barley, but this is too good to simply throw away. The grains still retain high levels of nutritional value after the sugars have been extracted during the brewing process. To find a good home for our spent grains, Eruption has formed a partnership with Otaranui Farm, right here in Lyttelton. After our brewing days the spent grains are collected from London Street and taken about 1 km down the road to the farm where they are used to feed their Lowline breed of cows and Saanen dairy goats. The grains are fed to the animals around 3 times a week to supplement their grass and foraged diets. Jozefa Wylaars who runs Otaranui Farm invited us to come and watch at feeding time and the animals certainly seem to love this tasty edition to the menu.
Studies of brewery spent grains have found them to be a rich source of fiber (around 70%), protein (around 20%), essential amino acids and other nutritional compounds. Also many studies have found adding spent grains into animal feed is great news for animal health and even milk yields. See here for all the technical details:Read More