There are a few things that have surprised me lately in the way that they can incorporate beer or brewing. It is not so much that I never thought it was possible to include brewing ingredients into these items, it is just that I never really thought about them within the worlds of beer and brewing much at all. However, now I know that candies and dog treats are card carrying members of the beer and brewing club.
It is probably a good idea to get the more unique one out of the way first, so I will start with the beer candy. Well, at least I think that the package says beer candy. It actually says “Sapporo Beer Drops” on the container, so maybe they are supposed to be cough drops. Perhaps one of you out there that can interpret Japanese can help me out with this one.
Beer in candy form.
The Expat Ken recently gave me a tin of these candies that he brought back from Tokyo not really knowing if they would be any good or not. Though I did not exactly have high expectations going in, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they taste pretty good. Apparently when you add a little sugar to what the bottom of a glass of Sapporo tastes like, you end up with a decent hard candy.
It cures what ails you!
Not as much of a surprise is that my spent grains from brewing at home can turn into a good treat for the dogs. On top of that Ian and I have both tasted them with no apparent side effects, so those same dog treats can be a little snack in a pinch. I think in the future some sort of baked goods will be made from spent grains as a treat just for me.
The ingredients and method for the dog biscuits was easy:
- 4 cups spent grain (that has not been in contact with any hops)
- 4 cups flour
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 2 eggs
The ratio of the grain and flour can be adjusted and I have seen recipes where the amount of grain is double the flour. You mix all of the ingredients together (I used my hands) until everything comes together. I have made this recipe a few times (the pictures are from the first batch) and found the initial mix to be quite dry (I allow my grains to dry before using), so I mix near the sink so I can easy add a bit of water even with my hands covered in peanut butter and flour.
A very simple list of ingredients.
Scored before going into the oven.
Then you spread the mixture out evenly on a cookie sheet and score it into the sizes you want. I used a pizza cutter to divide it up. It all then goes into the oven at 350 degrees for roughly a half hour or until they are pretty much firm. After that take them out and break them into the individual pieces that you scored before going in. Then spread those pieces out around them pan.
Back into the oven.
After that most recipes I have seen say to drop the temperature down to 200-225 degrees and let them go for hours and hours (8-10) to dry them out so they will not mold during storage. I do let them go for a while in the oven, but I store them in the refrigerator in a partially open Ziploc bag so mold is not as much of a concern to me. Besides the dogs like them so much they don’t last all that long anyway!
Ready to eat.
Now I really have to get brewing again to come up with some more spent grains for future experimentation.
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