Pre-milled grain storage question...

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golfduke

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Hi all. I'm new to the forum, and I have a question. I was out at a local brewery last night where I had a nice discussion with the brewmaster. I asked him in a joking manner that he should sell me some base malt off of his deliveries to save me some money. Off the cuff, he said it wouldn't be an issue at all. Needless to say, the prices are untouchable. I'm talking about a 50% savings from local HBS bulk pricing.

The problem? They buy everything pre-crushed. With a brewery that turns over their grain in extremely short order, I'm sure this isn't an issue. For an average joe like me though, I'm a little apprehensive. I go through a sack of base malt every 4-5 weeks. I usually order 4 sacks at a time (cdn 2-row and maris otter). I have not had any quality issues to date storing grains for 2-3 months, but that is uncrushed.

Does anyone have any insight as to how long/well crushed grain stores? I'm using airtight pet food bins, FYI.

Thanks for any input.
 
golfduke said:
Hi all. I'm new to the forum, and I have a question. I was out at a local brewery last night where I had a nice discussion with the brewmaster. I asked him in a joking manner that he should sell me some base malt off of his deliveries to save me some money. Off the cuff, he said it wouldn't be an issue at all. Needless to say, the prices are untouchable. I'm talking about a 50% savings from local HBS bulk pricing.

The problem? They buy everything pre-crushed. With a brewery that turns over their grain in extremely short order, I'm sure this isn't an issue. For an average joe like me though, I'm a little apprehensive. I go through a sack of base malt every 4-5 weeks. I usually order 4 sacks at a time (cdn 2-row and maris otter). I have not had any quality issues to date storing grains for 2-3 months, but that is uncrushed.

Does anyone have any insight as to how long/well crushed grain stores? I'm using airtight pet food bins, FYI.

Thanks for any input.

I too am I. The same situation. My thought is to package the milled grain using my food vac system. I don't have experience w this but I'm willing to try it out considering the savings!
Your not in Middlesex Malters by any chance are you?
D
 
Hi all. I'm new to the forum, and I have a question. I was out at a local brewery last night where I had a nice discussion with the brewmaster. I asked him in a joking manner that he should sell me some base malt off of his deliveries to save me some money. Off the cuff, he said it wouldn't be an issue at all. Needless to say, the prices are untouchable. I'm talking about a 50% savings from local HBS bulk pricing.

The problem? They buy everything pre-crushed. With a brewery that turns over their grain in extremely short order, I'm sure this isn't an issue. For an average joe like me though, I'm a little apprehensive. I go through a sack of base malt every 4-5 weeks. I usually order 4 sacks at a time (cdn 2-row and maris otter). I have not had any quality issues to date storing grains for 2-3 months, but that is uncrushed.

Does anyone have any insight as to how long/well crushed grain stores? I'm using airtight pet food bins, FYI.

Thanks for any input.

Let me ask you if you would throw out a bag of flour that might have been sitting in your kitchen for three months. I would not not would I worry about milled grain.

Grain is grown once a year. So at any time the fresh grain you are buying could be at least one year old stored in a silo in the heat or cold. I found not to long ago a batch that I had milled stored it in a paper grocery bag and stuffed into a shelf in my brew room. It was well over a year milled and at least another year bought and the beer turned out great.

Only issue to storing grain would be getting bugs into it. And the bugs will get into the grain no matter if they are milled or not. Keep it cool and dry and you will be fine
 
Moisture, bugs, and oxygen <-- These are the mortal enemies of grain.

Keep these guys out of their world, and the grain stays good for quite a while. 2-3 months for milled grain, more like 6-8 months for unmilled.

One of the best values in gear I evere bought were four cheap lowes paint buckets and four Gamma Lids. The buckets are like $4.00 each, and the Gamma Lids are like $10 each. The Gamma Lids are the key, because they are engineered with seals that make the bucket airtight. I buy all my base grains in bulk, and these buckets + lids are very high quality storage options for around $14 each.
 
Nope, I'm in NH. I am a BFD member.

NH you say? If it would make it easier for you, I may be interested in splitting a purchase with you (not knowing if they gave you a minimum hence your storage dilemma). I am in NH as well and we could discuss the details. PM me if it's anything you'd be interested in. And if not, that's perfectly fine, too.
 
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