Which Bulk Grains to have on hand?

I'm heading down to a supplier next week that has really cheap Grains (55lb bag of 2-row for $35).

Wondering what else I should stock up on?

I mostly brew IPA's.

Domestic 2-row and/or English Pale malt (Marris Otter) are both great for IPA.

I also keep big bags Pilsner and wheat malts in stock for Belgian's, wheat beers, etc...

Wow...wish I could get grains for that price.

I always keep a basic 2-row, munich, marris otter, wheat, and belgian pils on hand. This covers almost any style I would want to make. I get in on group buys for specialty grains and usually buy 10lbs at a time.

Right now I have domestic 2 row, Marris Otter, and some vienna on hand. I figured out my recipes ahead of time and bought a lot of base malt to cover what I wanted to brew.

Don't buy a full sack of flaked barley, or rice hulls. Just don't.

B

maida7 said:

Domestic 2-row and/or English Pale malt (Marris Otter) are both great for IPA.

I also keep big bags Pilsner and wheat malts in stock for Belgian's, wheat beers, etc...

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Ditto. In addition, I always have a bag of Munich on hand. And if you brew a lot of beers with the same Crystal Malt (like C-60) it would probably be worth your while.

I would recommend a domestic 2-row, English Pale, Pale Wheat, Vienna and a European Pils malt (Czech, German or Belgian, depending on what you brew most often).

I keep whole sacks of pils, 2-row and maris otter around, and sometimes golden promise. I would eliminate the 2-row and just use one of the others, if they weren't twice the price (I can also get 2-row for <$40, imported malts are more like $75).

I also keep half-sacks of Munich and Vienna around, though I may soon spring for a whole sack of Vienna or Special Aromatic - they both make nummy base malts for pale ales.

I just bought 2-25 kg bags of Canadian 2 row and 1-25 kg bag of Munich. I buy my specialty grains from my local LHBS. My daughter goes to school in Peterborough so I get my malt from United Canadian Malt.

I always have US two-row, British maris otter, a German Munich malt, and a couple of kinds of crystal- usually a light (20-40L) and a dark (80L). That should cover all IPAs, APAs, ESBs, English pale ales, California Common, etc.

What type of mill are most of you using at home?

I'm thinking about moving towards buying bulk grain/milling my own grain.

bad coffee said:

Don't buy a full sack of flaked barley, or rice hulls. Just don't.

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I understand the flaked grains. They can absorb moisture and have a relatively short shelf life, and you just don't use that much in a grain bill. But what’s the problem with rice hulls?

Last year I was out of rice hulls and wanted to brew. I always throw in a handful or more depending on what I’m brewing. Went to a LHBS that I don't usually use and asked the price. He say $.50/lb. I normally get them from BMW where they're $1.40/lb. I tell the guy I'll take 10 pound. He looks at me like I have two heads and I hear him cracking jokes with his employees. I have to convince him that I want them. Just about fill a 55lb grain sack. Lasted me a good year, but I'd never go back there. There was an air in the place that I was an A hole for buying that much rice hulls. I don't need attitude. Or were they right?

others are saying a english pale malt but I guess what kind of IPAs do you like? I mean even within that category there is tons of wiggle room. If you were a west coast guy I would say stay away from the marris otter and all you would need was 2row, some crystals and maybe some munich, feeling adventurous get some pilsner.

But really grain lasts a while when stored properly so get what you want, I'm sure you'll go through it in time.

DrinkNoH2O said:

What type of mill are most of you using at home?

I'm thinking about moving towards buying bulk grain/milling my own grain.

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I use a Barley Crusher. Works as advertised.

How long do grains generally last?

2-row and wheat is pretty much all I keep on hand in any quantity. I do like to keep some torrified wheat on hand. I add a pound or so to every batch to help with head retention.

ryanK said:

How long do grains generally last?

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It varies. Most malts are good for several months to well over a year unless you get a severe weevil infestation.

AnOldUR said:

But what’s the problem with rice hulls?

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I bought a full bag for $22 on a pallet order from North Country.
You know how big the bag of 10# was? Well imagine 55#! They were packed so tight into the plastic sack that every time I used some hulls the bag seemed to get fuller. I sent boxes to people, bags to people, gave every brewer I knew a shopping bag full and I STILL HAVE SOME. Finally it's down to under 5#.

Never again. I'll just buy the pound when I need them.

B

I plan on getting a bag of 2-row, and possibly a bag of Vienna. A buddy of mine who's barley crusher I use, uses primarily Maris Otter so he'd like to switch.

I was looking at most of the recipes I like, and at 55lb bag of 2-row for $35, beer is getting CHEAP!

Why buy rice hulls when you can malt condition? Just lightly mist your malt with water before milling. I use a corona mill and get almost zero husk shredding when I malt condition. I've never had a stuck sparge.

AnOldUR said:

I understand the flaked grains. They can absorb moisture and have a relatively short shelf life, and you just don't use that much in a grain bill. But what&#8217;s the problem with rice hulls?

Last year I was out of rice hulls and wanted to brew. I always throw in a handful or more depending on what I&#8217;m brewing. Went to a LHBS that I don't usually use and asked the price. He say $.50/lb. I normally get them from BMW where they're $1.40/lb. I tell the guy I'll take 10 pound. He looks at me like I have two heads and I hear him cracking jokes with his employees. I have to convince him that I want them. Just about fill a 55lb grain sack. Lasted me a good year, but I'd never go back there. There was an air in the place that I was an A hole for buying that much rice hulls. I don't need attitude. Or were they right?

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I think people get nervous about having stuck sparges, and use rice hulls way too many times when they are not needed. I have done 70% wheat beers without hulls, fly sparging, with no problems.

When you use more then 25% unmalted adjuncts like barley, oats, wheat, maize, ect., you might need a handfull or two at most.

Try brewing without them once or twice. You may be surprised how well you can sparge without them. years ago when the maltsters did lower modified malting, it was a different story.

on another note
bulk malt sacks kept in stock

pils
pale ale
wheat
munich

light, medium, and dark crystals, you can usually buy 10 pounds each and use them before they get old. 5-7 gal buckets with o-ring lids seem to really keep the malts fresh

Even with a full gallon scoop of hulls, my pumpkin beer ran off pretty slow. I don't throw in hulls unless I have a bunch of flaked/torrified/unmalted stuff. And I do condition my grain. So now you know why I'm down to 2.5 gallons of hulls and it should last me quite a while.

B

yeah pumpkin beer using canned pumpkin, is one that you'd need a bunch of hulls. fresh pumpkin not as much

Does anyone buy the $60+ Briess 2-row instead of the $35 Rahr

As far as a mill I usethe Monster Mill 2 and it works great. It is kept in the garage so I like that it is Stainless. It's also adjustable at both ends.

elproducto said:

I'm heading down to a supplier next week that has really cheap Grains (55lb bag of 2-row for $35).

Wondering what else I should stock up on?

I mostly brew IPA's.

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I buy sacks of both Marris Otter and American 2-row

I buy 5 llb quantities of
Crystal 10, 20, 40, 60 80, 120
Munich, Vienna, Victory, Carapils

I use 1.3 gal Vittle Vault (tm) for 5lb quantities and 40 lb Vittle Vault II (tm) (holds 55 pounds of malted barley) for base grains. I bought mine at US Plastics but most big box pet stores have dry food storage containers that are relatively air tight. I have stored some the crystal for a year or so and not had an issue with stale flavors. I brew 10 gal batches so a bag of base grain may last 4 -6 months depending on the varieties brewed. I store all my grains in the basement, temperature is never above 74F and I run a dehumidifier down there late spring through early fall.

I'd think 20 bucks of that is delivery costs. Never used Rahr, but others have said it's pretty good base malt

HI_SALENITY said:

Does anyone buy the $60+ Briess 2-row instead of the $35 Rahr

As far as a mill I usethe Monster Mill 2 and it works great. It is kept in the garage so I like that it is Stainless. It's also adjustable at both ends.

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I would buy Rahr over Briess any day of the week. Briess 2-row has very little character whatsoever, whereas they crystal malts are cloyingly sweet.

I brew lot of Pale Ale's, and Kolsch's. I like to have a sack of 2-row, and Pilsner and then I'll also buy smaller 8 lb bags of white wheat at the same price I get my 50lb bags for.

I try to buy at least 250 lbs of 2 row at 1 time to lower cost since I have to drive 200 miles for pickup. I buy crystal in full sacks as it's about half the price at local hbs. It seams to last, as long as stored in a cool place. All of my grains are stored in my basement. When I buy speciality grains I try to buy at least 5 to 10 lbs of each that way I lower my cost and can brew what ever I want whenever I want.

I have a sack of Pilsen and Maris Otter. I can brew whatever I want with those. I use Munich in a lot of recipes, so I definitely wouldn't mind having a half sack of that. The pilsen and MO can sub for domestic 2-row just about anywhere.

Ichthy said:

Why buy rice hulls when you can malt condition? Just lightly mist your malt with water before milling. I use a corona mill and get almost zero husk shredding when I malt condition. I've never had a stuck sparge.

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This is a good thread. I am about to pull the trigger on a Barley Crusher and hopefully taking part in a club grain buy real soon. So, for the first time I am attempting to plan out my order based on future recipes. I am mainly concerned with the bulk amounts as I dont mind ordering special grains as I need them at first.
I will be recirculating my mash through a RIMs tube and mashing in a 10gal cooler with a domed false bottom.
I am curious if certain systems may do better than others by employing rice hulls. From what I have heard and read some systems react differently when recirculating the mash.

Hawgbranch said:

This is a good thread. I am about to pull the trigger on a Barley Crusher and hopefully taking part in a club grain buy real soon. So, for the first time I am attempting to plan out my order based on future recipes. I am mainly concerned with the bulk amounts as I dont mind ordering special grains as I need them at first.
I will be recirculating my mash through a RIMs tube and mashing in a 10gal cooler with a domed false bottom.
I am curious if certain systems may do better than others by employing rice hulls. From what I have heard and read some systems react differently when recirculating the mash.

Click to expand...

The only time I get a stuck mash is if I have the pump valve open too far.(flow too fast)
But with direct fire if it is too "slow" the temp will overshoot the target temp after the burner kickes off.