Vongo

Recipes 

Looking for some advice on keeping grain.

1. How long will base malt last if I keep it in a sealed ale pale?

2. If you could only choose say 3 or 4 malts to keep on hand what would you choose?


Thanks

__________________
"Brewers enjoy working to make beer as much as drinking beer instead of working."
-Harold Rudolph

Suthrncomfrt1884

Recipes 

1. When I buy in bulk, it only lasts me a few months, so it's good at least that long. As long as you keep it in a cool dry area and it's sealed up, you should be okay for 6 months or longer.

2. I would pick a pale malt, wheat malt, and a pilsner malt. Then you can buy smaller amounts of specialty grains, or buy another base malt like vienna or munich.

__________________
He who drinks beer sleeps well. He who sleeps well cannot sin. He who does not sin goes to heaven.

Another HERMS rig...

Nateo

Recipes 

I usually only have pale and wheat on hand.

It's kind of a pain for me to get out to the LHBS, so I'll roast my own specialty malts, using this info:
http://barleypopmaker.info/2009/12/08/home-roasting-your-malts/

I'll use that to make a dark crystal malt, like a C-120, and I'll roast some dry in a cast iron skillet to make black or chocolate malt. You'd be surprised how evenly you can roast the grains in a heavy pan. The dark malts I've made myself were way more uniform than any I've bought.

__________________
To paraphrase Dr. England - "Off-flavors smooth with time. So do mountains. Brew it right from the start!"

My blogsite: http://nateobrew.blogspot.com/

Golddiggie

Recipes 

For bulk sacks of grain, I have 2 row. I have some Bairds UK 2 Row, Bairds MO and Thomas Faucett Golden Promise on hand (full sacks of 2 row and MO, the GP has been opened)... I had another sack of UK 2 Row, but used it up already.

I would plan to do bulk grain buys (base malt) once a year. I was involved in the one we did in February, and will do it again.

For storage, I have the open sack closed with a zip tie right now. I plan on getting some more food saver bags (gallon sized as well as some large rolls) and bag up the balance. It makes it easier when you can just grab a couple of pre-measured bags of grain and brew.

For specialty grains, I have some different British Crystal malts on hand (all four actually) plus some victory, honey and crystal MO in a plastic bin. Each bag is sealed, so it's all good. The ones that have been opened before get vacuum packed.

If you have the room, it wouldn't be a bad idea to store the grain where it's cooler during the summer months. But, whole grain stores a lot better than crushed grain. From what I've been told, whole grain, decently stored, can last a year or more and still be good. I wouldn't push it beyond about 18 months though.

__________________
My RocketHub Project

Hopping Tango Brewery

跟猴子比丟屎 ・ Gun HOE-tze bee DIO-se

On Tap: Caramel Ale, Mocha Porter II, MO SMaSH IPA
Waiting/Carbonating: 12.5% Wee Honey II, 8.9% Old Ale, English Brown Ale, Lickah ESB, Mocha Porter II
Fermenting
K1: MO SMaSH IPA
K2:
K3: TripSix
On Deck: Caramel Ale
Aging:mead
Mead [bottled]:Oaked Wildflower Traditional, Mocha Madness, Blackberry Melomel, maple wine


...the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed

ArcaneXor

Recipes 

1.) Until the weevils get out of control. I would definitely suggest against buying large quantities of flaked grain, peated malt or acidulated malt unless you can freeze them or saturate them with Co2, nitrogen or argon - the bugs love those the most. Briess is also pretty bad about weevils. If you don't get weevil problems, they last a year or more uncracked. (A few bugs aren't a big deal, but a really bad infestation is not only nasty and hard to contain, but it'll also change the malt flavor and aroma).

2.) I keep a continental or British Pale malt, Weyermann Pilsner, Weyermann Pale Wheat, and Vienna on hand in bulk, although I may stop stocking the Vienna, since I go through it pretty slowly.

__________________
The Fiesty(sic) Goat Brewery est. 2007 & Clusterfuggle Experimental Ales est. 2009
Planned: Fat Man Porter, sLambic II, Brettennial Falcon IPA, Flanders Red, Orange Blossom Mead
Primary: Winexpert Riesling Ice Wine, sLambic I
Secondary: Flanders Red
Kegged:Black or Blue EyePA, Cherrywood-aged Crystal Stout,
2013 dump volume: ~2 gallons

Vongo

Recipes 

Great idea on the food saver... I can basically male my own "house kits" that will be ready for the malt mill at anytime!

__________________
"Brewers enjoy working to make beer as much as drinking beer instead of working."
-Harold Rudolph

Bradinator

Recipes 

I have 100lbs of Pale on its way and was trying to find out how to make my own specialty grains from it. This is exactly what I was looking. Thanks Nateo!

FromZwolle

Recipes 

make your own caramunich! it's delightful.

i did about two pounds, split between 4 small cookie sheets for the drying/roasting portion and ended up with 2 different levels of toastyness somewhat similar to a caramunich I and II. they taste great.

Montanaandy

Recipes 

I use 2 x 5 gal buckets with lid gaskets per bag of grain. Cheap and keeps the grain air tight.

I always have 50 lbs of Montana 2-Row, Plisen, Wheat, each on hand at all times because these are the base malts that I use most frequently. I normally also have Marris Otter, & Munich too. Currently I have Simpson's Golden Promise, & Gamb. Pale Ale. I have thought about getting a bag of Crystal 40L since I use that in my IPA's quite a bit although normally a pound at a time so it probably makes more sense to continue to purchase it as I brew even though it costs 2 x as much as bulk.

Bradinator

Recipes 

Recipe please