How long do milled grains stay fresh?

I don't have my own grain mill, so I buy my grains milled. I bought some to make a batch a few days ago, but It looks like I wont be brewing with them until right around the beginning of the new year. Will the grains still be good by then? I was planning on brewing, but I realized I don't have an empty primary at the moment!

Good question. I think you'll be ok assuming they are sealed. You may want to put them in the fridge. I've brewed with similar situations before without trouble.

Other question - how long are unmilled grains good for?

Sealed reasonably well, I've used pre-milled grains up to a year old. In my experience, around 6 months my roasted grains start losing a bit of flavor.

hal2814 said:

Sealed reasonably well, I've used pre-milled grains up to a year old.

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+1. My personal opinion is that if it's kept cool and dry it's good for quite awhile. This was seconded by one of the Briess guys on one of the podcasts - I believe Brew Strong.

Sounds like I have nothing to worry about then. Thanks everyone!

CPooley4 said:

Other question - how long are unmilled grains good for?

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You must remember that grain harvest comes but once a year. So the clock starts ticking when it leaves the harvester until the next years harvest. I would try to avoid using grain more than a year old. Freezing milled or unmilled grain will help retain freshness especially if you vacuum seal it.

I don't know about freezing, that messes with the structure and creates little ice crystals which are bad for many foods, so maybe it'd hurt grains too.

But I'm glad someone asked this, I often find myself paying 8 dollars a pop for shipping and I brew about twice a month. I was just afraid the premilled grain would go stale. Sounds like I can double up orders, brew one and just let one sit in grain form for a few weeks.