Cracked Grains

Hey, I was wondering, does anyone know how long cracked grains might last in the freezer? I always order my grains cracked but never use all of them. I think I'm going to start ordering them un-cracked and then improvising with a rolling pin. Also, I ordered a pound of honey malt but never used it. Anyone know when I might need honey malt? Its never described in any of my three books: Dummies guide, Complete Joy, or Brewmasters Bible...

Somerville said:

Hey, I was wondering, does anyone know how long cracked grains might last in the freezer? I always order my grains cracked but never use all of them. I think I'm going to start ordering them un-cracked and then improvising with a rolling pin. Also, I ordered a pound of honey malt but never used it. Anyone know when I might need honey malt? Its never described in any of my three books: Dummies guide, Complete Joy, or Brewmasters Bible...

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There's a fair range of opinion on this: some say cracked grains are very perishable, others say they are good for weeks or months. If they're well sealed in the freezer, I'd say they are at least good for weeks.

I don't have a mill and I order 2-3 batches worth of pre-milled grain and keep it in sealed bags in the freezer until I use it--usually within a month.

Cracking your own with a rolling pin is fine for extract+grain brewing. I wouldn't want to attempt it for AG--it'd be incredibly tedious plus I think you'd get very poor efficiency.

Yeah, I'm an extract/grain brewer. Weeks? Eh, thats not very good...I only brew once every 1-3 weeks-especially since I'm beginning to lager (takes up a carboy for awhile). I buy my grains and usually always have about 1/2lb left over of each type...perhaps I need to start basing my future recipes off my current inventory. I probably won't ever use my honey malt...can anyone picture this grain steeped for an altbier?
Its hard to believe that cracked grains, when frozen, are highly perishable. They are frozen, so not much is happening...right? Anyone else have some opinions ?

Somerville said:

Its hard to believe that cracked grains, when frozen, are highly perishable. They are frozen, so not much is happening...right? Anyone else have some opinions ?

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They're not perishable to the degree some people make out. Freezing them more or less puts in them in suspended (non) animation, like any other foodstuff.

I don't think they'll go "bad," so to speak. It's just a question of the flavor being less than 100% optimal. I don't think twice about storing cracked grains in the freezer for several weeks if I need to.

Before I went AG, I always got my grains whole and crushed them with a heavy pan and/or rolling pin: I think that's the best solution for extract brewers. Whole grains will stay fresh for a very long time.

For what it is worth, I have kept pre-crushed grains vacuum sealed for over six months before brewing with no loss in efficiency and no discernable loss of flavor, and that was at cellar temps, not frozen, but I think the vacuum bagging is the key.

Unfortunately, I can attest to getting terrible efficiency from poorly cracked grains, because it just happened to me on two successivfe batches using pre-crushed grains from the same mail order shop

Crushed grains will go rancid in a couple weeks at room temperature. This is due to the fats in the kernel. If the humidity is high and they aren't well sealed, they can get stale as well. Seal them, freeze them, and they are good for months.

Honey malt (brumalt): From the descriptions I've found, I'd be tempted to try it in a London style Brown Ale. I have seen it in some Red Ale recipes, but I don't like much sweetness in my reds.

The only reasons cracked grains don't have the shelf life that uncracked does is because they are highly absorbant. If you live in a humid climate and leave cracked grains out it doesn't take long for them to get stale. If you vaccum seal them they should last a long time. I don't know about freezing them though.

All good information. I'm going to trust my pre-cracked grains in the freezer for a couple months. I squeezed alot of air out of them so they should be okay. Thanks !
Sounds like the honeymalt isnt very versatile. Im guessing it gives off quite a bit of unfermentable sugars? I might steet clear. My next batch is going to be an altbier.