From golden drink to golden co-product

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17 July 2024
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At Bavaria Brewery in Lieshout, they brew about six million hectoliters of beer annually. Many crates of beer come from the brewery, but there is also a co-product stream of brewers' grains. How are brewers' grains produced, and how do they end up on dairy farms?

Brewers' grains are rich in proteins, energy, and fibers. They improve the rumen function and mineral balance of cows. Therefore, they are often used as a co-product in dairy farming. Brewers' grains are the malt that remains after filtering in the brewery. Sister company CereX and partner Looop repurpose this co-product into nutritious animal feed.

Bavaria Brewery and Looop provide a glimpse into the entire process in the photo series below. Quinten van Ooijen followed the journey of brewers' grains and captured it.

  1. The journey of brewers' grains starts with brewing beer in the brewhouse. In this process, malt is mixed with water and heated at various temperatures.
  2. This mixture is then filtered in the lauter tun, the largest kettle in the brewhouse. The clear liquid that comes out, called wort, is the basis for the beer. The wort continues into the brewing process.
  3. The malt that remains after filtering is brewers' grains, a co-product of the brewing process. Parent company Royal Swinkels does not want any products to go to waste. Sister company CereX ensures that the co-products find another destination.
  4. The brewers' grains go into two silos that stand directly next to the brewhouse.
  5. Below the silos is the loading area, where Looop's truck drivers fill their trucks. Looop is one of the companies that repurposes the co-product into animal feed and handles the logistics and transport to the livestock farmers. A truck can hold approximately 36 tons of brewers' grains.
  6. At the livestock farm, the truck driver unloads the brewers' grains into the bunker silo. In a bunker silo, the brewers' grains are dumped loose. For lack of space or for extra convenience, the brewers' grains can also be unloaded into a tube silo.
  7. To promote quality and shelf life, it is necessary that the storage location is clean, level, and solid. By laying the silo with the wind, the cutting edge gets as little wet as possible. It is also important that rainwater drains away from the silo.
  8. After unloading, the truck driver takes a sample of the brewers' grains. This sample is used to measure the nutritional values and dry matter content. Ultimately, the dry matter percentage determines what the livestock farmer pays to Looop.
  9. After delivery, the farmer covers the silo airtight. This can be done with plastic film and a thin sand layer or sand tubes on top. Sprinkling salt can ensure better preservation. The silo must remain closed for at least two weeks to stabilize the lactic acid bacteria in the silo. The farmer can set aside a small amount to feed the cows immediately. A feeding rate of one and a half meters per week prevents spoilage.
Beeldverhaal Bierbostel

Source: Vakblad Veeteelt

Written and photographed by: Quinten van Ooijen