Ask The Brewmasters

Hello all!

Does anyone know how cows could die from spent grain? Should I be worried about packaging this brew for consumption?

 I brewed a double batch (60bbls) of our flagship amber wheat on Monday/Tuesday using our typical recipe. We have used the same lots of malt with no issues. Fermentation is progressing normally.  Our brew house efficiency was around 75% - a typical range for our older lauter tun. Our local rancher couldn't pickup until Wednesday because he was bailing hay. The spent grain sat in the trailer outdoors where the temperature was in the 80s. He called on Friday and said that 2 of his larger cows had died after eating the malt and the other cows were avoiding it, which is strange. He also mentioned that the cows were in a corral pen while he was harvesting hay and he had dumped the whole load in with them. Thanks!

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Evan Franklin
Rocker's Brewing Company
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Evan,

         Unfortunately, this is all too common. And, as much as I hate to say it, some of the blame is on the farmer. You can't dump an entire load of carbohydrate-rich foodstuffs in with ruminants and expect them to be okay. But now that you have this experience and knowledge, it's your responsibility to advise any farmers of this risk going forward. 

Regards,

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Geoff Logan
Alewerks Brewing Company
Williamsburg, VA
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Evan,

Many years ago I had an animal die from my spent grain. The grain tested positive for botulism. We never found out whether it was a bird or a mouse, but it was caused by an animal that had died in one of the grain buckets.  I'd see if you can get some of that grain tested.  It's scary because it could easily happen again if you can't find the source. We started bagging and sealing all of our spent grain after that incident (small 7 barrel brewhouse).

I'm so sorry this happened. Best of luck.

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Christopher Leonard
Heavy Seas Beer
Baltimore MD
(410) 247-7822
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This message was posted by a user wishing to remain anonymous

Most likely due to aflatoxins or other mycotoxins from the grain or from the environment while storing.  Each animal has a tolerance level, so you would want to know what animals your farmer is feeding and then ensure your spent grain is under that level (you mentioned cattle, but its best to confirm that is all he is feeding with the spent grain).  Levels of aflatoxins can be ensured by the grain supplier (usually tracked to prevent gushing) upon receipt so you don't have to test your spent grain so often. 

Your storage conditions however could also contribute to mold growth if left out and exposed to the elements.  You will want to monitor storage conditions too, ensuring there is no potential mold growth or other contamination occurs while waiting for pick up.

The container used to ship the product could also be the source of contamination.  Should inspect container/trailer prior to loading for potential hazards and ensure the container/trailer did not transport prohibited animal product protein and/or products not approved for use in animal feed prior to loading with spent grain.  

Check the COA from the grain supplier to see what the limits were for aflatoxin, it would help determine where in the process the issue began.  It will also help you determine if the issue will be present in the beer.

 

I'd guess that something could have grown on the grain between when you put in the trailer and when the farmer fed it to the cows. Or it could have been a completely unrelated problem, and the involvement of the grain was coincidental. It may be wise to talk with your agricultural extension office https://www.clemson.edu/extension/index.html and see what they recommend.

Roger Barth, PhD
Professor Emeritus of Chemistry
West Chester University
rbarth@wcupa.edu

Author of
The Chemistry of Beer, The Science in the Suds, Second Edition. ISBN 978-1-119-78333-0
Mastering Brewing Science: Quality and Production. ISBN 978-1-119-45605-6.

________________________________

This e-mail message was sent from a retired or emeritus status employee of West Chester University.

Sorry to hear about that incident.    I'm not sure if it would have been an issue, but I've heard that you should never feed cows straight spent brewers grains as they can't easily digest it compared to other feeds, it can cause excessive bloating and gas buildup inside them.  You are supposed to mix it with other feed stocks.    I remember reading an article on it one time but can't find it now, it had something to do with the higher cellulose content of some grains and that cows take longer to digest this type of material.   Pigs have no issue and have more robust digestive systems to handle 100% spent grains.    Otherwise I would agree with others that something toxic started growing quickly in the spent grains, even alcohol from fermentation due to the high sugars, that was caused by the hot day.   

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Curtis Holmes
Alaskan Brewing Co
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Hi Evan,

Sorry to hear of this. Lots of great info here from others, so I'll just add the recommendation to consult 21 CFR parts 117 and 507 (mostly same language/requirements) to ensure your spent grains storage and handling are aligned to FDA and state dept of agriculture (or other relevant agency) requirements. From your end, the grain must be handed appropriately. Extra credit if you can help the farmer understand appropriate use, but your state ag extension office should also be able and better-placed to help the farmer with that. Email me if you need more help. 

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Jeff Muston
Technical Services Manager
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Mills River NC
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Hi Evan,

This may have been caused by acute acidosis associated with the consumption of too much readily digestible/fermentable carbohydrate in a short time frame.  High last runnings are a possible brewing-related cause.

One of the problems with spent grain is its variable nutritional value.  Large users of spent grain for animal feed analyze lots and blend it other feeds to deliver a consistent feed source to their herds.  I'm not an animal nutritionist so please read about acute acidosis for more information.  The information about some of the cattle avoiding the spent grain may provide insight to someone who knows more about feed.

https://www.iowabeefcenter.org/bch/Acidosis.pdf

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Ashton Lewis
Manager of Training and Technical Support
BSG Craftbrewing
MBAA District Great Plains, Technical Chair
Springfield, Missouri
(417) 830-2337
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Hello Evan, 

Sorry to hear about this problem.  I don't believe this should be a concern for your beer, instead an issue with mineral deficiency or other diet related problem for the cow/cattle.  It is my understanding that generally speaking spent grains need to be mixed with silage and in some instances additional minerals/vitamins  need to be added back before it can be ingested.   I understand that steers are particullarly sensitive to this and will develop something called water bloat if the spent grains aren't properly treated. 

Here's a link to our local college's webpage about the topic. https://extensionpubs.unl.edu/publication/g2018/html/view

Do you know for fact that the dead cow was a (female) cow and not a steer etc?   Some of those specifics may point to the problem and how you might be able to avoid it in the future.   Is this the first time this farmer had used your spent grain? 

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Brendan McGinn
Director Of Brewing Operations
Zipline Brewing Co
Lincoln NE
(402) 937-1994
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I just asked my rancher about this. He raises bulls for breeding and steers for steaks. He quickly got ahead of me and said, "Oh yeah, over eaters disease."

In short, if left to free choice food, spent malt is like candy and they'll over eat to the point where they overwhelm their own gut flora. Add to it if there's toxic mold growth from being unused for days, and the cattle have little chance.

Our rancher mixes the grain with feed and meters it out to the herd. This really works because the steaks he's given me are incredibly well marbled. 

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Kevin Pratt
Rincon Brewery
Ventura CA
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Sorry to hear of this, Evan. In addition to the mold/botulism possibilities others have raised, I'd review your grain out/lauter tun CIP practices to ensure that no cleaning agent accidentally drained into the spent grain. Depending on your grain out augering set up this could be an issue, and I've heard of cattle dying after ingesting caustic cleaner that unintentionally drained into a spent grain bin/trailer. Best of luck.

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Mike Beebe
Head Brewer
Firehouse Brewing Co
Rapid City SD
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Hello all, 

Just an update in case you're curious: the autopsy report came back from our local AG extention office.  It turns out that the cows suffered from a bacterial borne pneumonia.  Also, that same batch of spent grain was fed to two other lots of cattle with no issues.  

I learned something new from the experience and refined our data collection in the process! Thank you all who contributed to this forum - I'll see you in Minneapolis!

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Evan Franklin
Head Brewer
Rocker's Brewing Company
Spartanburg SC
(720) 666-5783
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