Variation in Nutrient Content of Microbrewers Grains and Effect on Performance and Carcass Composition When Fed Wet to Growing-Finishing Swine1

The number of microbreweries and brew pubs producing craft beers is increasing. A survey of New Jersey microbrewery establishments was conducted to identify sources, types, and volumes of microbrewers grains (MBG) produced. Almost 1 million kilograms of wet MBG were produced annually in New Jersey. Nutrient content of MBG did not vary with site (brewing facility) or type of brew produced. The CP content of MBG (n = 142) was 25% less than that reported for brewers grains in the NRC or Dairy One Forage Laboratory database sets (20.9 vs. 28% CP; respectively), which may be due to the lower efficiency with which microbrewers remove starch from grains. Using wet MBG to replace 50% of the supplemental protein in a corn- and soybean meal-based diet tended (P = 0.07) to reduce ADG (0.83 vs. 0.92 kg/d) of growing-finishing hogs even though DMI was the same (3.0 kg/d). Brewers grains are low in Lys. Adequate protein and amino acid nutrition is critical in all swine diets for optimal performance.