Kitchen Garden Forum

Hi,
We have three large raised beds and approx 20ft x 20ft fruit cage. I do a lot of homebrewing and think it is a waste just throwing the spent hops and yeast away or down drain! I have heard you can spread the hops and yeast across the garden, is this correct
many thanks

paul

oh and great mag, subscribed and love all the info!!

Hello Paul
I'm a keen home brewer too and always put the spent hops onto the compost heap. Sorry we will have to wait for the experts to advise us about the yeast

"The Encyclopaedia of Garden Work and Terms" by AGL Hellyer published 1954:

Spent hops can sometimes be purchased at a reasonable price from breweries and if allowed to stand for a few months, become a valuable source of humus that can be dug into the ground in place of animal manure or compost. The rate of dressing should be similar to that for animal manure, namely about a barrowload to 6-12 square yards. As the hops decay in the soil, small quantities of nitrogen and other plant foods will be liberated, but the manurial value of hops in this respect is comparatively small. Their principle use is in improving the texture of the soil by enriching it with humus. Spent hops can be applied at practically any time of the year.

Agree with what Geoff has found and quoted. Just goes to show even 1950's advice can still be applicable today

As I was born in 1950 am I "bang on trend" then?........................lol

All waste products from home brewing, hops, yeast etc can be added to the compost heap and the yeast and sugar also act as a compost activator. This is a better use than applying it directly to the soil.

cheers guys, I have been wasting them for over 30 years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't think they've been wasted if you've been home brewing for 30 years....

I spread mine on the compost heap but I pass it through my digestive system first

Absolutely robo - couldn't agree more.

Oh, I love this. I haste wasting anything!

HOPS: We do most of our brewing during the cooler months and because the quantity of hops from our home brew is not great - we only make up to 5 gallons at a time - they are sprinkled upon the garden and get dug in. We can pick up big sacks of spent hops from a local brewery for free. We dig some in as we winter dig, use them as mulch for red and black currants and now I'm using them as a mulch on the top of the buckets we grow potatoes in.

YEAST sludge is mostly thrown upon the garden but, in view of Plum Pudding's advice, in future I will mix the sludge into the compost bin. However, if another brew is planned within four or five days we save some of the yeast sludge in a sterilised, sealed jam jar to use in the next brew. And it works.

GRAIN: Spent grain forms the bulk of our brewing waste. Some is sprinkled on the undug soil and eventually dug in, some goes into the compost bin mixed with the other stuff which goes in there, and some retained to use in bread making. To 500g bread flour I use 4 heaped tablespoons spent grain which gives the bread a rustic texture. I freeze the spent grain in plastic containers, in a quantity sufficient for a couple of loaves.

I should be interested in what everyone else does with their spent grain.

I've mentioned the "P" word - plastic containers. Someone gave me a bag full of those plastic containers with lids in which they receive their Chinese Takeaway. Both of us use them again and again in the freezer, until they split and then they go into recycling.

A quick note about why we mostly brew in the cooler months. Our temperature control is the kitchen door open, kithen door shut. So in the summer it is usually too hot in the kitchen even with the doors and windows open and the brew ferments too quickly because of the heat. However, for a swigging summer brew that's fine! Mine's a pint, resulting in more stuff for the compost bins.

Oops, I've woffled on a bit. Cheers!