Crushed Grains

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

five0matt

Active Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2011
Messages
31
Reaction score
0
Location
Kailua
I am currently deployed and will be back home in about a month and a half. I want to start brewing and I was going to start with some extract kits from midwest. If I get a kit with specialty grains, do they need to be crushed, if so, how long will crushed grains keep before they need to be brewed? Thanks for your help. I'm trying to plan when to make my purchase so everything will be at home and ready for when I get back.
 
If you get an extract kit, they are automatically going to crush your grains. Crushed grains will keep for about 90-120 days if you keep them refridgerated, about 30-60 days longer if you can vacuum seal them and refridgerate them. The main curprit that ruins grains is actually bugs, so as long as you use common sense to keep the bugs away, you are pretty much in the clear.

Just order about 2 weeks before you are due back, and have your SWMBO throw the grains and LME in the fridge, and you'll be fine. Order from somewhere like Midwest, Austin Homebrew, Northern Brewer, Williams Brewing, Birdman, or Farmhouse, and you'll get a fresh kit that will still be at the peak of freshness when you get home.
 
Thank you very much for your service!

Crushed grains if stored properly will last for months. I assume midwest vacuum packs the grain for shipment which is ideal. You want to keep them out of hot temperatures as well. If you have someone availible where the grains are getting shipped from, then have them throw the grains in a fridge until you get home, or try to wait to order so the grains will arrive just before you get home!
 
Chances are, in a kit the grains will already be milled for you. If kept cool and sealed then milled grains should last at least a month or so, I would guess, if not more.

B
 
Yes, they'll need to be crushed. They can crush them for you when you order. Grains keep pretty well, as long as they're in a sealed container/bag, and kept in a cool dry place.

I usually get mine precrushed and they sit around for weeks at a time.

You *could* get uncrushed gain and simply roll a rolling pin over them to crush. I've read that this is okay to do with specialty grains (though you'd of course want to get a real mill for base grains that you mash). But for steeping grains, I think the rolling pin thing works okay. I've never done it myself, just something I read.

:mug:
 
Yes, they'll need to be crushed. They can crush them for you when you order. Grains keep pretty well, as long as they're in a sealed container/bag, and kept in a cool dry place.

I usually get mine precrushed and they sit around for weeks at a time.

You *could* get uncrushed gain and simply roll a rolling pin over them to crush. I've read that this is okay to do with specialty grains (though you'd of course want to get a real mill for base grains that you mash). But for steeping grains, I think the rolling pin thing works okay. I've never done it myself, just something I read.

:mug:

Good point! When I was doing extract recipes, my grain crusher was a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream and a cookie sheet :D
 
If you order an extract kit, the grains are automatically going to be milled. You don't have to ask, you don't have to do it yourself, they are 100% going to be pre-milled, so don't worry about that.

These guys must have ordered individual ingrediants. There is no such thing as an extract kit with unmilled specialty grains.
 
If you order an extract kit, the grains are automatically going to be milled. You don't have to ask, you don't have to do it yourself, they are 100% going to be pre-milled, so don't worry about that.

These guys must have ordered individual ingrediants. There is no such thing as an extract kit with unmilled specialty grains.

You're right to say they will automatically mill grains. I only mentioned ordering uncrushed because he was worried about freshness. :mug: You can request uncrushed from some places though.

From a northern brewer kit: "For mail-order customers grains for extract kits come crushed by default, but if you requested uncrushed grains, crush them now."
 
I am currently deployed and will be back home in about a month and a half. I want to start brewing and I was going to start with some extract kits from midwest. If I get a kit with specialty grains, do they need to be crushed, if so, how long will crushed grains keep before they need to be brewed? Thanks for your help. I'm trying to plan when to make my purchase so everything will be at home and ready for when I get back.

Thanks for your time from a former sailor!
 
Back
Top