188 DESCRIPTION OF FEEDING STUFFS 



II. BREWERY AND DISTILLERY FEEDS 



The main feeds of this class met with in the trade are wet and 

 dried brewers' grains, malt sprouts, and dried distillers' grains. The 

 first three feeds are essentially barley products, while the last feed 

 is made from mixed grains, largely rye and corn. 



Brewers' grains are the by-product obtained in the manu- 

 facture of beer. The barley is steeped in warm water and held 

 at a warm temperature until it begins to sprout; by this process 

 the starch content in the grain is converted into sugar (maltose), 

 through the action of the ferment diastase found in barley. When 

 the malted barley contains a maximum amount of sugar it is quickly 

 dried. The tiny dry sprouts are then separated and form the feed 

 called malt sprouts, while the remaining dried grains make what 

 is known as malt. This is treated with large quantities of water 

 to extract the sugar, ash, and other soluble components; the ex- 

 tracted malt makes wet brewers' grains, and these, on drying in 

 vacuum, are changed into dried brewers' grains. 



On account of their large water content (70 to 80 per cent), 

 the wet brewers' grains must be fed in the vicinity of breweries and 

 within a short time after they have been made. As the starch of 

 the barley has been largely removed by the processes of malting and 

 brewing, the brewers' grains are considerably richer in protein than 

 the original grain and may be considered fully as valuable a feed 

 for farm animals as these. Their digestibility is somewhat lower 

 than that of barley, for reasons easily seen ; but fed either wet or 

 dry, the brewers' grains form a valuable feed for farm animals, 

 wet grains being especially adapted for milch cows, brood sows, and 

 fattening swine, and dried grains for cattle and horses. When fed 

 in a sound, fresh condition and in moderate quantities, say twenty 

 to thirty pounds per head daily, with dry roughage and concentrates, 

 wet brewers' grains make an excellent feed for dairy cows, and can 

 often be contracted for from local breweries at a low price ; they may 

 be considered worth about one-fourth as much as the dried grains 

 for feeding stock. 



Brewers' grains have been brought into disrepute by being fed 

 in excessive quantities, without dry roughage and under unsanitary 

 conditions, and their use as a stock feed under such conditions is 

 prohibited in most States. When the wet grains are fed to dairy 

 cows, care must be taken to keep the mangers and stable scrupu- 

 lously clean, so as to avoid filthy conditions and foul odors around 



