Brewer’s spent grain (BSG) is a solid waste generated in the brewing industry. Over 38 million Tons BSG is produced worldwide annually and is typically used as animal feed, composted, or sent to landfills, but contains valuable nutritional components. Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) are typically cultivated on a wide array of lignocellulosic substrates such as straw, sawdust, wheat bran, and/or soybean or cottonseed hulls, which are nutritionally similar to BSG. Thus, we tested oyster mushroom production on three types of BSG-based substrates, smoked pale ale (SPA), graham cracker (GC), and stilly wheat (SW), from a local brewery compared to a control (C) sawdust-wheat bran-based substrate. We found mushroom production on barley-based SPA and GC BSGs was comparable to control sawdust substrate but was reduced on wheat-based SW BSG.
Millis L, Bellmer D, Marek S. 2021. Use of brewer’s spent grain for production of high value mushrooms. FAPC Virtual Research Symposium.
