How much grain do you have in stock?

50 lbs of Pale Malt; 50 lbs of Northwest Pale Ale Malt; about 25 pounds of other base (Pilsen, Munich) and specialty malts (crystals, chocolate, roasted, amber, Carapils, etc.); 5 or 6 pounds of hops; and a small selection of yeast

I'd say I have:

100lbs 2-Row
40lbs Marris Otter
40lbs Munich
3lbs Vienna
15-20lbs various crystal and specialty malts (rye, flaked wheat etc)

This is what I bought in January so I have a bit less now.

300lbs 2 Row
300lbs Pilsener
100lbs MO
50lbs Wheat
50lbs Special B
50lbs C60
50lbs Rye
50lbs Munich
25lbs Chocolate

About 1800lbs, :-/. Just realized I might have an issue.

jbsengineer said:

About 1800lbs, :-/. Just realized I might have an issue.

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And weevils

jbsengineer said:

About 1800lbs, :-/. Just realized I might have an issue.

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Holy CHIT man!!!:rockin:

I wanna come over and help ya brew!!!

pb

175# 2-row
125# pilsen
75# Vienna
25# carapils
25# munich
25# smoked malt
and the list goes on. I'm guessing close to 600#. I brew 11 gallon batches about once to twice a month. have about 15 cornies.

3 bags 2-row
1 Pils
1 white wheat
2 marris otter
1 vienna
1/2 bag caraMunich II
1/10 bags of 40+ specialty grains

I have a couple questions on this.
How long will this keep?? I am starting to ramp up my brew rig, but am curious if i get the grain how long it the grain how long it will keep?
I brew 5 gallon batches right now.

wyowolf said:

I have a couple questions on this.
How long will this keep?? I am starting to ramp up my brew rig, but am curious if i get the grain how long it the grain how long it will keep?
I brew 5 gallon batches right now.

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I brew 10gal batches and a 50lb sack of base malt seems to last right at 3 brews. So I would guess 6 for you.
And from what I've read on here you should be good for at least a year, if your grains are kept dry and pest free.

I get the large freezer bags and put 4lbs in each one, and I keep all my grains on the top shelf, (as far off the floor as possible).

pb

wyowolf said:

I have a couple questions on this.
How long will this keep?? I am starting to ramp up my brew rig, but am curious if i get the grain how long it the grain how long it will keep?
I brew 5 gallon batches right now.

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At max a year for base grains. The weevils hatch out unless kept cooler then my house is so, I try to not stock any of the base grains longer then 6-8 months, Wheat, rye, Crystal seem to last longer but I plan my brewing for the seasons. Right now saisons and wheats (Oktoberfest is lagering) they deal with the heat the best.

It seems even if I brew way more than I can drink I would still have enough grains to brew 5x that amount. I'd rather manage a smaller inventory and just buy for 5 brews at a time in the future.

just did a quick inventory... base malts like belgian pilsen, pale and Thomas Fawcett Marris Otter is about 200#
often used adjunct Munich, Vienna, Belgian Aromatic, Belgian Caraamber, and Wheat malt is about 150#
often used in 2% grain bill acidulated 20#
specialty malts... not so much- some carafa, some special roast... I usually use my LHBS for the specialty stuff for a particular brew

Somewhere between 350-400 lbs. About 50% base malts and the other 50% is speciality.

I've actually been trying to reduce the amount I keep on hand as I find I have too much old malt and I'd rather be brewing with fresher stuff. Crystal and darker highly kilned malts will last a while but I don't like to keep the base stuff (2-row, pils, MO, pale, wheat) around for more than a year if I can help it. Stockpiling grain is not a good idea.

I keep the grain in 6 gallon 12" diameter food grade buckets with Gamma Seal lids:



The buckets were originally full of juice for making wine, purchased for a buck or two from a local u-brew wine place.

The buckets then go on a wire rack, 8 per shelf, 2 shelves for grain:



Kal

That is one purdy brewroom

Holy smokes. The next time my wife grumbles at me for my grain holdings, I am going to show her this thread!

I have about 45# 2 row; 10# Maris Otter; about a pound each of various caramels, chocolates, flakes, munich and vienna; six or eight flavors of hops; about 5 different yeasts. My stuff is carefully stashed away, out of plain sight - no need bringing unwanted attention to my holdings...

kal said:

... Stockpiling grain is not a good idea. ...

Kal

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And yet this is probably how beer was discovered!

Ha! Good point.

So I wonder what'll be discovered next by having us stockpile? Maybe some new strain of lambic/sour yeast?

Kal

Just inventoried mine; currently have 400lbs of grain in 25 buckets.
Some of it is very old but is still making good beer.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ag4llxCtfLyDdEoyQURMejgwMGRiek1tVERORlZ5ZFE&usp=sharing

Xpertskir said:

~400ish

Im using 100 this weekend though.

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I know I'm off topic and about a year after you posted this, but I saw you had listed the French Canadian Breakfast Stout a something you had bottled and it sounded delicious!!! Wondering if you could tell me what the recipe was?

WOW!!! You guys are NUTS! Or you brew like crazy and I am envious for sure! Before I started the brew store I would have at most 70# of grain on hand and at most 2# of hops and at the VERY most 3 types of yeast, washed and ready to use..



I now keep about 8000# of base grain and 2000-3000# of specialty grain on hand

Up to ~600lbs after the latest shopping spree at brew brothers. Using it as fast as my fermenters will allow though.

~150lbs. Not too much, but I will definitely be increasing this soon.

Jaybird said:

WOW!!! You guys are NUTS! Or you brew like crazy and I am envious for sure! Before I started the brew store I would have at most 70# of grain on hand and at most 2# of hops and at the VERY most 3 types of yeast, washed and ready to use..



I now keep about 8000# of base grain and 2000-3000# of specialty grain on hand

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Is there any way to tell how fresh a closed sack is by looking at it?

Wow! I am feeling small and insignificant. I am down to about 75 lbs. Though I have about 20 varieties of hops from 1 ounce to about a pound and I have 10 or 11 varieties of yeast, dry and frozen.

About time for a trip to the lhbs or an online order for more grain.

Is there ever any bulk grain buys in here?

tripplehazzard said:

Is there ever any bulk grain buys in here?

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All the time. Look down on the home page and I believe there is a sub forum titled group buys

I usually join a group buy to get 50 or 55lb bags of base grains. 2-row, Maris Otter, Pilsener, Munich, and wheat. other grains I usually buy anywhere from 2-5 lbs at a time, depending on frequency of use. Probably no more than 200-250 lbs at any one time.

Jaybird said:

WOW!!! You guys are NUTS! Or you brew like crazy and I am envious for sure! Before I started the brew store I would have at most 70# of grain on hand and at most 2# of hops and at the VERY most 3 types of yeast, washed and ready to use..

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That's definitely the way to do it (especially for grain). I've been trying to reduce the amount of base malt I keep on hand (2-row, maris otter, pilsner, etc) as fresher is better. Some of the higher Lovibond crystal I don't mind keeping for a while but for the base stuff I'm trying to have it used up within a year, and that's with keeping it nicely sealed:



Kal

This is one of the biggest down falls for me going to all grain. Storage space and time. I don't have enough room to store even 50lbs much less a couple o hundred.

BxBrewer said:

This is one of the biggest down falls for me going to all grain. Storage space and time. I don't have enough room to store even 50lbs much less a couple o hundred.

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I hear that man.

I hardly have enough room to store my equipment as it is.

Just go to lowes, and pick up cheap buckets, and stack them.

4 Ounces American - Roasted Barley
10 Ounces United Kingdom - Pale Chocolate
10 Ounces American - Caramel / Crystal 90L
13 Ounces American - Victory
13 Ounces Belgian - Biscuit
13 Ounces United Kingdom
1 Pound American - Caramel / Crystal 60L
1 Pound German - Melanoidin
1 Pound United Kingdom - Cara Malt
2 Pounds German - Carafa III
2 Pounds American - Rye
3 Pounds Belgian - Special B
4.5 Pounds Belgian - Aromatic
5 Pounds German - CaraMunich I
5 Pounds Flaked Wheat
13 Pounds United Kingdom - Maris Otter Pale
15 Pounds American - White Wheat
15 Pounds Rice Hulls
35 Pounds German - Vienna
36 Pounds Canadian - Munich Light
49 Pounds American - Pale 2-Row
55 Pounds Canadian - Pale 2-Row
55 Pounds American - Pilsner

I also have about 8lbs of hops laying around in the freezer currently.

dpatrickv said:

I also have about 8lbs of hops laying around in the freezer currently.

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Damn dude, the whole inventory and what not. What hops? I am tired of paying shipping or overpaying for hops with free shipping...I need some more citrusy hops, cascade, amarillo, etc. I have some Willamette that I'm not terribly fond of...

Maybe we should do a hop-trade...?

Vienna
Munich (4 different lovibonds)
2-row pale
Superior Pilsener
Chocolate
Roasted Barley
Carapils
Carahell
Carastan
Honey
Golden Promise
Brown
Black Patent
Crystal 10-165
Peated
Rauch
Belgo-Frances Aromatic
flaked barley
oats
flaked maize
Carafa type II
Melanoiden
...I'm probably missing a few. At least 5-10 lbs of each...if not more.

Hops inventory is a whole nother massive list. Haha

Hops are my downfall. I have approximately 45 lbs of hops in the freezer. At least they'll last longer than malt!

Kal

kal said:

Hops are my downfall. I have approximately 45 lbs of hops in the freezer. At least they'll last longer than malt!

Kal

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]

Ahh so you've personally been causing the hop shortages I've been running into lately. WHat's the story on the malt not lasting? I seem to experience the opposite where my hops degrade, but the malt seems ok.

grathan said:

What's the story on the malt not lasting? I seem to experience the opposite where my hops degrade, but the malt seems ok.

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Malt is (has to be) stored at room temp and degrades faster than hops stored in a freezer at 0F (the way that hops should be stored).

Even in airtight containers malt is usually exposed to oxygen so it ages faster than pellet hops that are compressed and often kept under seal in oxygen barrier seal (like foodsaver bags).

Think of malt like bread - it starts degrading the day it's kilned. I've tasted 1-2 year old crystal malt and while it make taste 'fine', when I compare to the same malt I just bought fresh, the difference is noticeable. Exactly what you'd find between 1 hour old freshly baked bread vs. 2 day old. (for example).

Kal

I don't think malt is like bread. The moisture content of bread is maybe 30-40% and it appears stale because moisture has left. Malt on the other hand is kiln dried to maybe %3 and when its used a whole bunch of water gets added back in. The effects of oxygen on kilned malt don't seem similar to that of hops at all. If your talking nitrogen flushed, vacuum sealed and never opened hops that don't see any oxygen over time perhaps, but if you open the container at all the hops are doomed.


I am curious about malt aging. I have a 3 year old sack of malt I am gonna experiment with in the near future. My first batch is gonna be a barleywine which is also gonna use a 4 year old can of Alexanders malt syrup.

Ok, maybe bread isn't the best analogy. I suggest tasting fresh malt vs malt that is 2-3 years old and to see for yourself how the older malt doesn't taste as 'fresh'.

I buy my hops in bulk and then re-package and seal them up in 1-4 oz foodsaver pouches where most of the atmosphere has been removed, so that they don't get re-opened and closed continously.They're one time use packaging. They're also kept in the freezer which helps slow down aging. Here's an example:



(I do the same repackaging for some dry yeasts which I also buy in bulk).

I'm finding that malt that is 1-2 years old is not as good as fresh malt even though I've stored it in bins sealed with watertight/airtight Gamma seal lids, while hops that are 1-2 years old stored in individual atmosphere depleted pouches stored at 0F are still great.

YMMV!

Kal