To brew your own beer is to approach the pure, cathartic act of something-from-nothing creation. Sure, there are packaged ingredients, reams of reference material, and a host of ungodly expensive equipment if you let yourself go nuts. But you still start with raw material and end with something tactile, nuanced, and (hopefully) consumable. For everyone who otherwise spends their day at a desk, moving words or numbers from one sheet to the next, it’s a supremely addictive outlet.
That same spirit of DIY creation drives all the best bakers, cooks, and sausage makers. And as it happens, a lot of them love beer as well. So we brought together these two worlds to give a second life to the spent grain that’s so unloved. Finally, our favorite chemistry-adjacent hobbies come together in supreme harmony.
Crackers for Very Fancy Cheese
The brewery where I work used to turn out a cracker like this using the fresh spent grains from the adjacent brewhouse. As it happens, even one kitchen container of grain is enough to make more crackers than we could ever sell. But it’s the perfect way to make a quick dent in that brew-day grain. If you don’t have a pasta machine, no big deal. An even hand with a rolling pin and some patience will yield the same result.
- 6.7 oz (190 g) rye flour
- 6.7 oz (190 g) bread flour
- 1½ cup spent grain
- 1½ tsp (9 g) salt
- 2¼ tsp (9 g) baking powder
- 1.67 fl oz (3.3 Tbs) olive oil
- 4.5 fl oz (9 Tbs) water
- Olive oil, to brush
- Flaked sea salt, to season