Thoughts on storing bulk crushed grain

I've done a bit if research in the forums here on storing grain but was looking for some advice on storing bulk crushed grain - I've got two 55lbers coming my way - seems a few options:

1 Store in homer buckets
2 package up in 10 lb ziplocks and store in Rubbermaid
3 store in sacks inside Rubbermaid bins

I'm leaning towards #2 but was wondering what your experience was? Thanks

I probably brew once a month and use maybe 10-15 lb grain bills

Any grain storage option should be fine as long as it's airtight, so do whatever is easiest.

But you're getting 110 lbs of grain crushed? I'd invest in a mill if I were you, that's going to take you 9 months to go through. I wouldn't purposely leave crushed grain for that long, but to each his own. If you can't get the grain whole and crush it yourself, you might want to portion it and vacuum seal it and/or store in a chest freezer.

I agree with zach. I've not tested it out myself, but the common convention is that grain stored uncrushed will keep longest. You can build a corona mill set up for about $40. Check out this thread.

Thanks - ya I know I probably should get a crusher but its just another gadget to store if you know what I mean - when I got back into brewing I always try to ask myself - how can i simplify this more?

If I end up not going through this in enough time than ill switch back to ordering 10lbs at a time.

I think packaging it up in 10 bags may be the best option

Yeah I wouldn't store crushed grain for any real length of time.

I would do a combination of 2 and either 1 or 3. I've personally never stored crushed grain for a long period, but I wouldn't expect it to be a huge issue for several months as long as you keep the moisture out. The thing that I would be concerned with is that the crushing process itself caused negative consequences (moisture, bacteria, etc..) that will just get worse over time. I know that un-crushed grain is by no means sterile (or even clean really). Make sure you report back, I'm sure others would love to know.

I store grain in bulk all the time and do keep it around for awhile, but its un-crushed. Generally, I keep it in homer buckets. To simplify things, I almost always mill my grain and measure my hops (also bought in bulk) a day to a week in advance of the actual brew. I've had it sit for two weeks before in a homer bucket, but that's it. It was fine.

Thanks.

FYI you'd be pretty surprised at the number of brewpubs & crafts brewers that buy & store pallets of crushed grain. It's really not that big a deal as long as it stays dry.

shoreman said:

FYI you'd be pretty surprised at the number of brewpubs & crafts brewers that buy & store pallets of crushed grain. It's really not that big a deal as long as it stays dry.

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I wouldn't be surprised at all. In fact, I'm pretty sure its the reason that you can buy a whole sack already crushed. Those places don't "store" it so much as buy it, use it, buy some more. I'd be shocked if anything sat for longer than even two weeks. They wouldn't have the room for more than a month's supply of grain.

Stuff will sit longer than you think especially specialty grains or for ex marris otter - I know this b/c I used to work for a micro that used crushed also my local regional only uses crushed.

either way I'm not to worried about it - thanks for the replies.

Can you find any room at all in your freezer? That would help it last the longest, so for some grain that would be stored longest if you could vacuum seal it and put it in the freezer, it would probably stay fresh a long time.

Yooper said:

Can you find any room at all in your freezer? That would help it last the longest, so for some grain that would be stored longest if you could vacuum seal it and put it in the freezer, it would probably stay fresh a long time.

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Ya my hops are taking up most of the extra space there

Agree with Yooper on this. If you can freeze it, the crushed grains will last much longer. If you have a vacuum sealer you could extend the shelf life even longer along with freezing it. Honestly, the best solution is to get through the crushed grain as quickly as possible. I'm comfortable leaving crushed grain in a sealed bag for a month or so, but I wouldn't go for several months. You may want to consider a grain mill if you're trying to save money with bulk grains - I ordered a MM-2 yesterday.

I use home buckets lined with Reynolds Turkey bags. Perfect fit. Mine aren't crushed though

I imagine you're leaning towards #2 because of convenience (I.e. It'll fit your storage space or you have some of the materials). No objection here. You might consider oxygen absorber packets though....
A good plan would be to taste test the stuff. Think of it like a box of cereal. Its taste fresh when newly opened, but will get stale in a couple weeks (or less if it isn't sealed up well). Even if you do, its going to go stale because of the o2 introduced into the grain. Soo, taste the grain when its fresh. Throw a pinch in your mouth and suck on it for a minute. Remember the taste. When you go to use it at a later date, taste it again for staleness. Even if it is s bit stale, it might be ok to still brew with...but, point was, consider using your taste buds as a guide

Thanks everyone some great thoughts here - ill try the taste test as well. Maybe ill brew alot this spring and summer but well see.

http://byo.com/wheat-beer/item/1362-shelf-life-storing-your-ingredients

1 year in zip lock bags

I'll speak from 100% experience here:

The enemies of your grain are: Air, humidity, weevils, and heat. Remove all of those, and crushed grain can keep for a long time.

Weevils are notoriously voracious creatures. They are very capable of going through the plastic thickness of a ziplock bag, and they CAN get under the lid of a rubbermaid bin. I've wasted a fair amount of grain that way, as multiple bins were contaminated from one bag with weevils.

What I've done in the recent years is to use ziplock (to minimize air contact) along with putting them into homer buckets with lids. I have some nearly 2.5 year old crushed grain that still smell fresh, tastes good and is weevil free.

Yes, it's better to use it quicker or store it uncrushed, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.

MC

Me I would not throw out the flour that has been ground and been in my kitchen in a paper bag every month. Nor would I stress about using crushed grain as long as it has been stored dry and cool.

I found a paper supermarket bag full of grain I milled for a batch a couple of years ago that had been kept cool and dry. I brewed it up and it tasted great.

I think their is much wailing and gnashing of teeth when it comes to grains that is a waste of time. I have wheat that has been stored for 30 plus years that I am making bread out of now. Secret to it all is keeping it clean cool and dry.

One more thing... If you DO get weevils, expect them to show ANYWHERE in your house where there are starches, including boxes of pasta, flour, etc. I threw out nearly everything that was starch based from my house a few years ago, and any NEW starch is stored in heavy plastic tupperware bins.

MC