Air tight grain storage a must?

So I've been reading alot of the threads regarding grain storage and quite a few are referencing air tight or vaccumm sealing.

My question is how important is air tight or vaccumm sealing to storing. Is it more important for long term or should be considered for short term

My initial plan was to store about 50lbs of 2 row in tied up plastic bag of some sort and then stick it in a plastic clamp type tote (not exactly air tight) which would then be stored in a basement room which has a dehumidifier running

I am not sure of the importance of vacuum sealing, but many are using the pet food containers with the air-tight screw top like they sell at PetSmart. They are marketed by Vittle Vault.

Yeah i saw that one. I was trying to avoid dropping $40 but I MAY have to consider some kind of food container...they seem to have IRIS brand a little cheaper.

As far as my current plan....I don't beleive the palstic tote I have could be considered exactly food grade but I figure I'll be in good shape if the grains are initially put into some kind of clear trash bag of sorts....any thoughts?

Look around for tin cans - I use a bunch of the big ones that popcorn (pre-popped and flavored) comes in (usually with quaint holiday scenes printed on the can) - fairly tight sealing (no, not really airtight) lids.

I also have one thing that is the best ever, but hard to come by at a reasonable price to to antique dealers and lamp-makers wanting to abominate them - a milk can. Seals really well, built like a tank, heavily tinned.

I'd be careful about using trash bags- some are not really food safe. I use gallon or two gallon zip loc bags inside the cans, which gives me convenient amounts of grain or DME to grab at one whack.

Buckets (a plastic primary) with non-holed lids would work quite well for cheap - even for free if you find a local food-service place that discards them (frosting buckets, etc). $9.70 for 6 gallon plus undrilled lid from Morebeer. Airtight, bug-tight, rodent resistant.

Your biggest enemy is not air so much as insects and rodents. The brewery or distillery (when they did their own malting) cat was an important critter, given the attraction of all that grain for wee beasties.

Yeah i was thinking about some beer buckets

I like the antique can idea though....that would be pretty cool.

We got a couple decorative (mock antique) ones that say flour and such up on the kitchen counter.....i wonder if the wife would notice them missing

You might check US Plastics

Here is the Vittle Vault II:



Or maybe some of the other bucket options, including the hinged square bucket. Many options are cheaper up front, but shipping could add a bit.

Check with local bakeries, independent and supermarket. I found 2 gallon buckets for free.

These are what I use and I love them

Life Latch

$10 for a 6.5 gallon bucket with screw on lid.

If you're looking for those vittle vaults, look at Costco too. I have one that is bigger than standard that was only 25 dollars. It is for my dog's food, but it does the trick!

I picked these up from walmart for around $17. Each of them have 50lbs in them, I'd guess that you could fit up to 60lbs of malt in each. There is a rubber seal on the lid, so it's pretty close to air tight.

drunkatuw said:

I picked these up from walmart for around $17. Each of them have 50lbs in them, I'd guess that you could fit up to 60lbs of malt in each. There is a rubber seal on the lid, so it's pretty close to air tight.

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I didn't see those ones at my wally world...I did pick an equivilant IRIS air tight 55 qt container for like $27...just filled it to the top with 55lbs of 2 row

Just go to your local ice cream parlor and get the big ice cream containers they have hard ice cream come in.
I get them free and they are air tight to an extent. I tried them filled with water and they didn't leak a drop when turned upside down, so I will assume they are somewhat airtight. Being soft plastic, I imagine they aren't rodent proof, but the price was right.

I the mean time, I store my grain vacuum sealed only because a brewing buddy gave me 1000 or so pre-printed plastic bags that weren't any good to his customer.

I have grain stored this way over a year old now, and to me, still as fresh as the day I put it in there.

You don't need to be air tight if you go through it on a regular basis I use one of those large rectangular rubbermaid storage bins for my 2-row and I haven't tasted any staleness.

You can also go to your local grocery store if they bake any of their own goods and ask if they have an Ice Frosting buckets. They throw them away so usually they'll give them to you FREE. I get 3 gallon buckets which are HDPE, food grade plastic. They seal air-tight and are stackable.

I use those screw top containers that pretzels come in. They aren't ideal for bulk storage just because they are kinda of a pain to fill from a sack but otherwise they work fine.

Lowes has screw top garbage cans for under 30 bucks. Just leave the grain in the sack. they will hold about 3 sacks.

Forgot that option, though I'd go for a galvanized can from the local hardware store - I prefer metal when I know I've got rodents in the equation, and a galvanized can that does not get used for garbage is easy to keep clean and tight.

Someone has a thread on making a plastic tote airtight with a rubber seal. Maybe in the DIY forum?

But the topic has swayed....the OP asked how important it was to keep grain airtight.

My best guess is a few weeks before it's worrisome. The LHBS keeps grain at atmosphere unsealed. How long has that stuff been there?

Ya we did go off track there a bit. I was talking to a rep from midland malt(Missouri malt?) and was told 6-12 months if uncrushed and kept cool and dry. I think 6 months max though before you started losing something.

drunkatuw said:

I picked these up from walmart for around $17. Each of them have 50lbs in them, I'd guess that you could fit up to 60lbs of malt in each. There is a rubber seal on the lid, so it's pretty close to air tight.

Click to expand...

I use the same container above for my bulk base grain and these for specialty grains below but with a standard screw on lid. They around like $1.50 each from walmart.

I think it's important to keep the grain sealed up, but not mandatory to keep it airtight. I've had uncrushed grain in a Rubbermaid Rubberneck 14 gallon bin for six months before and it still smelled and tasted fine.

cool thanks for all the info....now that i know I can get about a year or so out of it and I can probanbly look to carry more then one type of base malt. Probably stay with the air tight set up as a little added insurance of freshness

I think "air tight" is more of a concern for keeping moisture, insects, and rodents out than for any other reason. De-humidifier, sealed and in a plastic tote should be just fine.

I keep mine in airtight pet food containers for base malts and specialties in the 5 lb rubbermaid twist tops from walmart mentioned previously. Keeps everything nice and orderly in my bar cabinets.

I use the homer buckets and lids from Home Depot. It seems to work OK. Maybe it is not 100% airtight, but it seems to do the trick.

Something I am in the process of doing, since SWMBO started buying local dairy milk. The glass milk bottles are great for specialty grains for the same reasons we ferment in carboys. I got some stoppers from NB, and found an old milk crate to store them in. It looks cool as hell, and you can't get much more food safe, as it's the same sort of stuff I ferment with.

I like that galvanized trash can idea though. But not for grains. For fermenting. I live in downtown Chicago in an area where the rats and cats are the same size. I was thinking my basement would be perfect for lagering, but I was always afraid of rats. I'm thinking if I put a can down there with a cinder block on the lid, there'd be nothing to worry about. That would especially be nice for using some of those Czech yeasts that make the rotten egg smells (SWMBO would not thank me if I did that in our laundry closet, where I currently do my lagering).

njnear76 said:

I use the homer buckets and lids from Home Depot. It seems to work OK. Maybe it is not 100% airtight, but it seems to do the trick.

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Just a heads-up. HD has dropped the price on the Homer Buckets by a couple of bucks. This is the cheapest most versitile way to store grains that I have found.

(Pulling stuff out of the basement for today's brew . . . . )

I keep my grain in a rubbermaid bin. I also keep it in its original bag.

I've looked at most of the "air tight" pet food containers available at Walmart, et al and I've personally found them to be little more than "wind resistant". My bar may be set a little high, but I expect something that claims to be air tight to actually be air tight.

That said, I think the Vittles Vault products are the best out there for the price. I went with the flexible, air tight, 50# bag they make:



Only $25 at Amazon - Amazon.com: Soft Store Collapsable- 50 lb blue: Home & Garden

Grain has to be able to last a year. Grain is not refrigerated at the dealers. It just sits in bags or grain silos waiting for shipping. It needs to be dry. If I lived in the SW and did not have mice I would leave it the bags they were shipped in. I, however live in the humid Mid Atlantic region, damp basement with mice so I store in relatively airtight containers(plastic buckets)

AnOldUR said:

Just a heads-up. HD has dropped the price on the Homer Buckets by a couple of bucks. This is the cheapest most versitile way to store grains that I have found.

(Pulling stuff out of the basement for today's brew . . . . )

Click to expand...

I saw that. Hmmm... I should drop by and get a few more buckets.

18.99 from petsmart and holds 65lbs
Stackable Pet Food Storage Bins by Bergan - Bowls & Feeders - Dog - PetSmart

Homer buckets are $2.78 each and the matching lids with the o-ring in them are 98 cents. Helluva deal

We live in the woods and consequently have all sorts of critters hanging around. The squirrels chewed through a rubbermaid trash can to get at our bird feed so I invested in a few galvanized trash bins for the grain. I keep big sacks in their original bags but put specialty grains in gallon freezer ziplocs. A bungee holds the lid on tight enough to keep everything out. No problems in two years of use...