mayanrocks.com » Homemade Beer Bones.
Homemade Beer Bones.
Posted on March 22nd, 2015 in animals, baking, DIY, food and drink, fundraising, LA

Make a donation of $10 or more to sponsor my participation in San Diego Humane Society’s Walk for Animals and receive a bag of homemade beer bones made with repurposed spent grain locally sourced and generously donated by LA craft brewery, Progress Brewing!

You can donate HERE. Please put your address in the “Personal Note to Walk Participant” field if you want dog treats. If you’re in LA or SD, I can probably just meet up with you 🙂

brew bones

I battle my obvious love of dogs on a daily basis.

I can’t watch a cute puppy video on youtube without clicking on all the related videos. Next thing I know, I’ve lost three hours of my life watching 103 videos in a puppy surprise playlist and have been crying for at least two of those hours. Just kidding. (I cried for all three.)

When Pammie asked if I wanted to do a walk for animals, I immediately said yes without knowing any details other than dogs were somehow involved. Her office organizes this huge fundraiser that includes a bake sale where homemade dog treats are sold for donations, and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to combine my love for dogs with my love for baking and get involved.

I reached out to some local LA craft breweries, and Progress Brewing in El Monte was generous enough to donate some spent brewing grain towards my cause. I drove out to what the dude described as “east of east los” with nothing but a 5-gallon bucket and a friend to witness my death in case the dude chopped me up into little pieces and dumped my body in the mash tun (I did meet him on the internet, after all).

progress brewing mash tun

Kevin, the co-owner of Progress Brewing, was actually a really nice guy. He asked if I preferred “Black IPA” or “American Red” doggy biscuits! Ha. I went with American Red, obvi, since I’m not a fan of IPAs. Dogs are also allergic to hops, so if you’re going to repurpose spent grain, make sure the brewery didn’t mash hop the batch you’re getting.

It’s best to use the spent grains within the first few days after brewing, otherwise they’ll go bad. I used a FoodSaver and froze them in portion-sized bags for storing and later use, since they gave me around 40 pounds of grain.

Here’s a simple, all-natural recipe if you want to try making these at home:

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups spent grain
  • 2 cups organic barley flour
  • 1 cup natural peanut butter
  • 2 organic eggs

homemade dog treats using spent brewing grain

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all of the ingredients and mix with your hands until a thick dough forms. Roll out the dough on a generously floured surface and cut out shapes with cookie cutters like this cute dog bone.

homemade beer bones

Line the biscuits on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, then reduce temperature to 225 degrees and continue baking for 2 hours. Cooking them the additional time at the lower temperature will help ensure they dry completely, extending their shelf life.

homemade beer bones

The dried biscuits will keep for 2 weeks in an airtight container and even longer if you freeze them in zipper bags. You can give them to your dogs straight from the freezer as a cool summer treat, or, if you’re in LA, in the dead of winter when it’s 90 degrees out!

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5 Comments

  1. Min was all like...

    Love this! I’m constantly looking up “dog and baby” videos on YouTube, even though I have that streaming in real life now.

    March 25th, 2015 | #

  2. mayan was all like...

    livin’ the dream! please tell me this is bella and amelia all day every day…

    March 25th, 2015 | #

  3. Shi was all like...

    Thats a whole lotta trouble for some dogs!

    March 28th, 2015 | #

  4. mayan was all like...

    some dogs are worth the trouble 😉

    March 30th, 2015 | #

  5. Min was all like...

    Ugh! Unfortunately, Bella is terrified of Amelia for the most part. It breaks my heart.

    April 2nd, 2015 | #


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