Garage Project produces more than 500 kilograms of spent grain a day.

An age-old relationship between brewers and pigs is heading to the dogs.

Since beer's earlies days, brewers have been using the leftover grains to feed pigs. Te Aro-based brewery Garage Project has taken that a step further, creating doggy treats it calls Mashbone.

Garage Project brewer Pete Gillespie said it produced more than 500 kilograms of grains a day, which is currently used as feed by three farms - Woody's Free Range Farm, Longbush Free Range Pork and a Hutt Valley dairy farm.

"They are doing us a favour and we are doing them a favour too," he said.

"We get a bit of bacon once in a while and they get a bit of beer. Everyone's happy.

"We feed the pig and then the pig feeds us."

It costs the farms nothing but the petrol to pick the grain up.

But there were no tipsy pigs, Woody's Free Range Farm owner Daniel Todd said.

"It already has all the alcohol removed and you're left with just the spent grains," he said.

He said the two and a half tonnes of grain he picks up from Garage Project had plenty of protein and complemented the vitamin-enriched food he bought for his pigs.

"It's like the bread roll you have with your steak.

"It fills up the pigs."

Garage Project's Jos Ruffell said the dog treats were another way to use extra grain.

He saw it done overseas and started experimenting at home.

"It's great for us if we can find a way to develop [the spent grains] into its own product," he said.

Garage Project recently linked with Massey University in Palmerston North.

"We liked the idea of putting some thought into it and make it nutritionally sound," Ruffell said.

"We are making them a proper treat and putting a lot of time into getting them properly tested."

Both Gillespie and Ruffell have dogs and said the treats were a big hit.

"My dog goes nuts for them," Gillespie said.

The new treats will be commercially produced and some will be beer inspired.

They will be available within a few months.







