Codename : Spent Grain Granola

Once the beer has been brewed, what does one do with the spent grain? Try making granola!

Recipe adapted from : https://www.food.com/recipe/crunchy-granola-31235

Ingredients

  • 3 C rolled oats
  • 1 C spent grain (see notes below)
  • 3/4 C brown sugar
  • 1/4 warm water
  • 1 cup cashews/peanuts/pecans/walnuts (or your favourite nut), coarsely chopped
  • 2/3 cup sunflower seeds (or your other favourite seed substitute)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 Tbsp chia seeds (optional)
  • 1 cup of your favourite dried fruit, such as raisins or cranberries (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 275F
  2. Combine water and sugar, stir thoroughly until the sugar is dissolved
  3. Add in salt, vanilla and cinnamon, stir
  4. Add oats and spent grain, stir until everything is coated with the sugar water
  5. Add the rest of the ingredients (leave out the dried fruit for now), once again stirring everything until the contents are uniformly distributed.
  6. Line a cookie sheet with parchment
  7. Spread the mixture on the cookie sheet
  8. Bake for 45-60 minutes, until you have the level of golden brown you prefer
  9. Allow the granola to cool on a rack for approximately one hour.
  10. Once everything has cooled, break it up, add your optional dried fruit, and store in an air tight container

Made from the spent grain of my most recent Irish Red Ale.

Notes

  • I used dehydrated spent grain, although I have to think wet spent grain would work
  • In a previous test run of this recipe, I used only cashews, but I was low so I used a 50/50 mixture of cashews and peanuts. Use your favourite nut, whatever you have on hand you like!
Start by combining the warm water and brown sugar.

 

All the ingredients mixed together.

 

The mixture has been pressed into the lined cookie sheet. This is the before picture, the after picture also looks remarkably similar.

 

The granola has been broken up and the cranberries have been added.

 

Stored in an air tight container, ready to be consumed.

Baking day : 25-Jan-2025

Pig facing left