Bulk Grain Storage

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sean6247

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I recently purchased 100 lbs of grain, and I am having difficulty figuring out how to store that much grain so that it will stay fresh for a long period of time, and make the purchase of bulk grain worthwhile.

So, how do those of you that purchase grain in bulk store your grain?

Thanks in advance......
 
Well, I never buy that much bulk as I don't use it that fast. If you were doing 10 gallon batches, I could see it being worth it.

Anyway, I usually buy 50lb bags and either store it in a rubbermaid storage tub that you can buy for around 5 bucks at HD. As long as it's airtight and you keep it in a cool place, it'll keep for awhile. Otherwise, when I buy specialty grains in 5lb bags, I use my foodsaver to seal them airtight and keep them in a cool place with the rest of my stuff.
 
Take a look at the similar threads box if you scroll down to the bottom of the screen, there's 5 threads on the topic there alone...

A lot of folks use the Vittle Vault pet food containers sold at petsmart.

foodcontainers.jpg
 
I store mine in the big Rubbermaid totes in my basement. Each one holds a little more then a 55lb bag.
 
I use 5 gallon homer buckets from home depot.

Do the 5 gallon buckets hold 50 lbs of grain? I have several of those already that could be oxy-cleaned and made to hold grain. Are they air tight?

I purchased 50 lbs of 2-row and 50 lbs of Munich Malt as my two main brews are pale ales and irish red ales. I do 5-glallon batches, using these two as my main base malts, this should get me through my next 11 brews. And at $0.70 a pound I couldn't pass it up.
 
Do the 5 gallon buckets hold 50 lbs of grain? I have several of those already that could be oxy-cleaned and made to hold grain. Are they air tight?

I purchased 50 lbs of 2-row and 50 lbs of Munich Malt as my two main brews are pale ales and irish red ales. I do 5-glallon batches, using these two as my main base malts, this should get me through my next 11 brews. And at $0.70 a pound I couldn't pass it up.

It takes like 1 and a half homers for 50lbs.
 
Homer buckets will hold almost exactly 25# each. I've been using them for several months with no problems at all; no insects, moisture, spoilage, etc. Not bad for under $4 each! I don't even use a liner anymore, but they are handy for combining different grains in the same bucket. Here's a 50# bag of 2-row in buckets:

sth70663.jpg
 
I use food safe buckets with mylar liners, O2 Absorbers and Gamma Seal Lids to store my 90 days of "survival food" I keep in rotation (rice, beans, etc.). These will keep your grains fresh for a long time. If you fumigate with CO2, it's evenbetter (either pump it in or drop a cube of dry ice near the bottom before you fill). Here are two great sources. The Food sage buckets at Emergency Essentials can be used as fermenters or bottling buckets too and are cheaper than food safe buckets at most LHBS, Online HBS and Restuarant Supply Store. Their shipping is very reasonable too.

Buckets and Lids: Food Storage Containers - Emergency Essentials

Mylar Bags & O2 Absorbers: 10 - 20x30 Mylar bags and 10 - 2000cc absorbers
 
Uncrushed grain is very stable kept at low humidity and steady temps.

They arent harvesting it year round in Germany, Canada, USA or France
 
I use Space Bags. I guess some people have a terrible time with them. They work for me and hold 50lb sacks.
 
I keep mine in the bag it comes in. I only buy a bag at a time and it lasts about a month. I have no rodents and the climate here is very dry. My specialty grains are in bags in buckets.
 
I had a bunch of 2row in it's original paper sack and my basement flooded but none of the grain got wet.

After that I noticed that it wasnt as crisp as usual and it didnt crush as easily.

Is it possible that it also lost some of its fermentability? My efficiencies also dropped when using it
 
Something just occurred to me...we may over stress this...

Most of the LHBS's that I frequent store their bulk grain in;

2245-blue-mist_sm.jpg


or

2129_sm.jpg


Of course they are mostly high traffic stores, and probably sell theirs faster than we would brew it...but those basic bins seem to work for my shops.
 
1 lb. of grain takes up a volume of about 1 quart. So, get a 60 quart bin for a 55# bag of grain.

If you are worried about air (I'm not), Ziploc makes 10-gallon bags (Ziploc XL/4 bags), available in your grocery store. They have a double zipper, are extra thick, and each hold about 40 lbs. of grain. You can actually pick these bags up by the handles without then falling apart. You could put the grain in there, then optionally in the bin for organizational purposes.
 
Something just occurred to me...we may over stress this...

Most of the LHBS's that I frequent store their bulk grain in;

2245-blue-mist_sm.jpg

I have two of these half filled, each are 7 months old and still taste as fresh as the day I bought them.I probably will not need to refill for at least another month or two.

I keep them in my basement which stays between 55-65 and I run a dehumidifier. Never had a problem with bugs or rodents. I periodically go down and eat a small handful to see if they going stale. I usually go through the malt faster then this but so far so good. I'm not really worried about it going bad.
 
Something just occurred to me...we may over stress this...

Most of the LHBS's that I frequent store their bulk grain in;

2245-blue-mist_sm.jpg


or

2129_sm.jpg


Of course they are mostly high traffic stores, and probably sell theirs faster than we would brew it...but those basic bins seem to work for my shops.
I use 2 of the blue rubbermaid totes like above. I just keep everything in the original bags they were shipped in and seal them with tape/zipties or whatever.
 
This is what I use - I love it since it wheels around my brew area. I bought mine at Walmart for $20.



I use the same bins as brrman but picked them up at Tractor Supply for $15 a pop. Almost a whole 55# sack of basemalt. Wheat Malt and Rice Hulls get stored in Homer Buckets until I find something better.

I use the following with a screw top lid for specialty grains and they hold about 5# per container.

1b49_sm.jpg
 
Slightly off topic, but I've been dividing my grain in to recipes in bulk - ie, put the base and specialty grains into bags all at once for the next 5 brews or so. Currently, I've been using the large ziplock bags, and then putting those into homer buckets. Anyone else do anything similar? I'd like to use some containers sorta like mmb has listed. I guess i'd need containers to hold up to 15 pounds or so (on larger beers, I use DME to get gravity up). so if 1 pound = 1 quart - thats a 15 quart or almost 4 gallon container. That just sounds too big???
 
I keep them in my basement which stays between 55-65 and I run a dehumidifier. Never had a problem with bugs or rodents. I periodically go down and eat a small handful to see if they going stale. I usually go through the malt faster then this but so far so good. I'm not really worried about it going bad.
According to site/stores that specialize in bulk foods and storage, that's a great comination to keep food fresh for a long time. I read on one of these sites that for every 6 degrees F you go above or below 70F, you double or half the shelf life of a product. For example, if you bought a big bag of grain that has a 6 months shelf life, it'll be 12 months at 63F, 24 months at 57F, but only 3 months at 76F.

Keeping out mosture (as you are), critters (again, not an issue for you) help a lot too, becuase these will result in poor food quality almost instantly. The last piece of the puzze is O2, which can be eliminated/reduced with O2 absorbers, or CO2 purging using your kegging equipment or by dropping a few cubes of dry ice into the container, letting it change to gas, purging/burping the container/bag and sealing it.

Neat thing about the CO2 purging is it will kill any critters & their eggs already in the grain (Weevels, I hate weevels!), and due to it's slightly heavy than air attributes, it will keep a high concentration in the stored grain when you carefully scoops some out.

Adding bags to your storage containers, whether they're the fancy mylar ones I mentioed earlier or just trash bags, helps alot too becuase it helps eliminate head space and reduce oxidation further.

I think if you make your bulk purchases so you'll never have more than 12-18 months of grain on hand, and develop a good rotation plan, you have nothing to worry about, unless your storage area is really warm and/or humid (though the humid part can be overcome with good sealing).
 
Homers with the o-ring seal in the lid. As air tight as you need.
I've been using the Homer's, but not with the o-ring seal lid. The white lids from HD are easier to get on and off. I did a water test on one (flipped it over with water in it) and it held, so it's good enough for me.

GrainStorage03.jpg
 
I have been keeping my sack in a plastic tote. I do like the HD bucket idea though. A bit easier to store that way. I also like the small plastic container with lids for specialty malts and stuff. Nice to have a shelf with that stuff on it. My stuff is currently in sacks in the crisper of the kegerator.
 
dropping a few cubes of dry ice into the container, letting it change to gas, purging/burping the container/bag and sealing it.

Ahhh the good old days as a kid. I wonder how many things we blew up with dry ice back then. what made it even more fun was there was no such things as plastic bottle. It was all glass. I kinda miss those exploding glass shards in everything.

But any way, I think I am finally gonna go bulk after reading all of this. I like my Local shop but eh, times are getting tough.
 
How many homer buckets would it take to hold 50-55 lbs of grain? I'm already buying hops in bulk and want to start getting at least my 2-row in bulk. I'll probably look for the containers suggested above with the wheels, but the buckets would be easy to stack and move, and would be convenient for smaller quantities as well.
 
I also use Homer Buckets. Just as an FYI when I bought mine they had a fresh plastic smell to them. I washed them and let them set for a couple days for the smell to go away. Don't know if that was necessary but didn't want to ruin my stock trying to save it.
 
I don't believe anyone has mentioned US Plastics, but that's where I got my storage containers (Vittle Vault II).
75086p.jpg

They don't take up very much room, have a nice sealing screw-on lid, and they hold a 55# bag of grain. Plus, you get discounts for buying in quantity so order with a friend!
 
The only place I have the space to keep bulk grain is in my detached garage. It's dry and there's no bugs or rodents, but it often gets +100F in the summer. I assume this is a bad thing.
 
I keep my bulk grains (MO, Pilsner, etc in the Homer Buckets and specialty grains are all in Tupperware like containers. I asked the question about grain storage and temps but never got a definitive answer. My house does not have AC and can get into the mid 70's to mid 80's. I keep them in a closet with the door closed. SO far so good. I taste them every other month or so to see if they are turning.
 
I keep mine in the bag it comes in. I only buy a bag at a time and it lasts about a month. I have no rodents and the climate here is very dry. My specialty grains are in bags in buckets.

+1, thats how they are stored in the warehouse, so that should be good enough for my closet. I will buy 350-400lbs once a year and store the bags unopened until I need them. Once I open (or any specialty grains I buy) I store them I store in 5 gallon buckets like the homer buckets.

Never had any problems with it, In fact I have some crystal that is approaching about 2 years at this point that I would not hesitate to brew with.
 
Here is how I ended up storing my grains. I only have a small closet under the steps, and got really, really sick of having to drag 100+ lbs of grains in a rubbermaid container to get in there.

For the specialty grains, I bought a bunch of 2 & 4 qt containers at Walmart. They hold 2.5 & 5lbs each. They stack very nicely on the shelf. The pitcher holds about 10 lbs. For the base grains, I use these pet food containers I found at Meijers (it's a store like walmart/target) that cost $13. Depending on the grain, they hold about 45-48lbs. It would be great if they held a little more, but they fit so perfectly in the small space I have, I will be able to deal with it. I can always put the "overstock" in one of the other containers.

n3oivd.jpg
 
I just drop the bag into a plastic trash can and go on. I have my special grain in bags inside another trash can. No problems yet and my can holds 2 sacks.
 
Question for you Homer Bucket guys: Do you use a liner? I haven't been.

I don't think it is needed but I do just keep it in a trash bag in there. That way when I take some out i am still able to get most of the air out from around the grain.
 
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