Value Adding to Brewery Spent Grain

The challenge 

The Australian brewing industry produces over 300,000 tonnes of spent grain from beer production annually. Each 100 L of beer produced creates approximately 20 kg of wet brewer’s spent grain (BSG). This is currently used as animal feed or disposed of to landfill. With the advent of smaller, more dispersed craft brewers, the logistics of distribution or disposal of BSG has become more difficult.  

BSG is essentially grain, most commonly barley, with most sugars removed. This protein-enriched, low sugar, high fibre by-product has attributes that are desirable in food and materials manufacturing industries. BSG’s high fibre content (up to 70%) includes cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, which can also be used to make high fibre food and plant-based leather and other materials.  

Our plan 

ChemCentre, in collaboration with West Australian Brewers Association, Nanollose, Spinifex Brewing Co, Maalinup Gallery, Curtin University, Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (WA) and End Food Waste CRC, aim to use BSG to develop high-value functional food, nutraceuticals and biomaterial product(s) and provide a new opportunity to divert brewery waste into a sustainable long term circular bioeconomy. 

Key project outcomes are: 

1. Development of a chemical composition database for the brewers, manufacturers, and researchers on both desirable and undesirable nutrient components, aroma, and flavour constituents that impact suitability of BSG for inclusion in targeted food, pharmaceutical, cosmetics and biomaterial applications. 

1. Assessment of different BSGs in developing new ready to eat food products, along with their nutritional and sensory evaluation. 

1. Assessment of different BSGs in developing food ingredients and prebiotics, along with their application technologies, nutritional and sensory evaluation. 

1. Assessment of different BSGs for production of plant-based leather.