3-week old crushed grains!! Are they good?

I have some grains that I had crushed about 3-4weeks ago. They have been sitting around in a brown paper bag (what my LHBS puts everything in). Do you think they are OK?

hbhudy said:

I have some grains that I had crushed about 3-4weeks ago. They have been sitting around in a brown paper bag (what my LHBS puts everything in). Do you think they are OK?

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yes, almost certainly.

go chew a few and see. If they taste "stale", then throw them out. But if they taste good, use them!

I have some crushed oats in a cardboard tube that have been sitting in my closet for more than a month. My wife used some for muffins this morning. The muffins were delicious. You may have some of these "rolled oats" made by Quaker and they can sit for months and still make oatmeal for breakfast. I think your crushed grains will be fine.

I was reading the Compleate Joy of Home Brewing last night and Charlie Papizan states that crushed grains can stand for months stored in the proper conditions. I trust Charlie, So relax, and have a Homebrew

I like Yooper's response best. Taste!!

Yep taste is the best policy. I like to vac seal and freeze mine and have had them last along time. I do date the bags before freezing and before use taste them ( a day before and to allow to rest at Room temp)

Its all about the storage conditions. If thery're clean and dry there should be no problem.

I think of it like coffee. I like to grind right before making coffee. But I've also bought pre-ground coffee that sits for quite a while before using.

Before I had a grain mill I would buy pre-crushed grains online. I would order enough for 3 batches or so... had good luck brewing with them up to a month after they arrived.

As wkaidy noted, it it's stored properly it will be fine.

I'd say they're fine. I also get mine crushed at a LHBS that uses brown paper bags. Even if I'm brewing the next day, I put the bags in a bucket with a sealed lid.

We once bought some bird seed that was infested with weevils and I don't want to provide hospitality to anything that eats my malt. Get a bucket that seals.

I just brewed a rye brown with grains that were crushed about 3 months ago.
Only one of the bags had been opened for the last month or so- the one with the remaining 5-6 lbs of 2-row.
The rest were still sealed from Austin Homebrew Supply.
They stayed in their bags inside the box for all of the last 3 months, though unfortunately were stored in the tiny, hot apartment that I just moved out of.
Anyway, point being that although they were dry and in a box, they were hot for that entire time and one bag had been opened. Not ideal conditions.
The beer's not ready yet, but I tried the grain chewing test before mashing, and the 2-row was maybe barely stale. Wasn't cardboardy, but perhaps had a hint of a stale flavor to it. That being said, the other grains were fine, and the wort tasted good.
This is after 3 months, so you're probably fine after 3-4 weeks.

just brewed over the weekend and everything went as hoped.. grains were not stale and mash went off without an issue.