The California Beef Council and SDFoodies collaborate to share the unique environmental partnership between San Diego County’s Flying F Ranch and Del Mar’s Viewpoint Brewing Company.

A beef burger and beer is a time-honored combination. Like a lot of things, it works because it’s simple. The balance between the burger and the beer is satisfying. But while the concept might be simple, raising the beef and brewing the beer are complex. It might not be too much of a stretch to call both processes artforms.

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Bryce and Alli Fender, owners of Flying F Ranch in San Diego County, routinely include spent grains sourced from Viewpoint Brewing Company in Del Mar as feed for their cattle. Photo courtesy of SDFoodies.

The art of ranching and the art of brewing are both part of the culinary life of San Diego County, a food system that begins on the ranch and in the brewery, before finding it’s way to the table. One rancher and brewer are taking this a step further in a partnership that goes full circle by literally feeding the cows the grain that forms the basis of some of San Diego’s best craft beers.

It all starts at Viewpoint Brewing Company, overlooking the lagoon in Del Mar. Head brewer Moe Katomski makes a mix of eclectic house-brewed styles from Del Martian Amber Ale to Hop-Cano Hazy IPA to Das Chefeweizen and more. But they all have one thing in common: the art of brewing starts with grain and other ingredients, and ends with delicious beer. It also ends with what’s left of the grain. What happens to all the spent grains that form at the base of these craft beers during the brewing process? That’s where Flying F Ranch enters the picture.

In the hills outside San Diego, Alli and Bryce Fender of Flying F Ranch raise Black Angus cattle. Currently selling their beef direct to the consumer online and at local farmer’s markets, they also offer ranch-to-table experiences for San Diego locals to enjoy a five-course beef-inspired meal curated by a local chef, and they bring in local wineries and breweries to pair with the menu, served on open pastures on the ranch with cattle grazing nearby.

But grass in the pasture isn’t the only food cattle get on the Flying F. Once a week, Alli heads to Viewpoint Brewing Company in Del Mar to pick up those spent grains and take them back to the ranch as a supplemental feed for the herd. So why use spent grains to feed her cattle?

It’s all about upcycling. About 90% of what cattle eat can’t be digested by humans. It’s forage and plant leftovers that people can’t eat and would otherwise go to waste. Cattle are ruminants, meaning they have a unique, four-compartment stomach and digestive system that allows them to gain nutritional value from their feed and forage. Their digestive systems house trillions of microbes that share a symbiotic relationship with the animals, allowing them to benefit from feed and forages that other animals can’t digest. Thanks to their unique digestive system, cattle can convert things that humans can’t eat, like grass, almond hulls, citrus peels, and spent grains, into a high-quality, nutrient-rich protein: beef.

“Cattle are ruminant animals, so they’re able to upcycle wasted by-products that humans can’t eat, for example, beer grain is a great resource that we’re able to utilize for them, like a sweet treat for them,” Fender said. “And it’s great because we’re able to help out the breweries where they don’t have to take this stuff to the landfill. The cows really enjoy it. It’s a great protein source for them. It’s like eating candy, and we’re able to turn trash into treasure. It’s kind of a cool full-circle moment.”

Keeping those spent grains out of the landfill is a win for Viewpoint Brewing Company, a win for Flying F Ranch, and a win for the people of San Diego.

“This relationship between Flying F and Viewpoint Brewing is part of a larger sustainability story,” Fender said. “Less waste in the landfills? That’s a no-brainer. Let’s turn what would have been a useless by-product dumped in a landfill into nutritious, delicious beef.”

About the California Beef Council

The California Beef Council (CBC) was established in 1954 to serve as the promotion, research, and education arm of the California beef industry, and is mandated by the California Food and Agricultural Code. The CBC’s mission is to amplify the voice of the California beef industry to strengthen beef demand through innovative promotions, research, and open communication. For more information, visit www.calbeef.org.

About the Beef Checkoff

The Beef Checkoff Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States may retain up to 50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the Cattlemen’s Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.

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“This relationship between Flying F and Viewpoint Brewing is part of a larger sustainability story.”