Grain Wet Itself

So about two weeks ago I bought some Red Wheat and German Pils. The grain was crushed, put into paper bags, and left in my room in a plastic bucket. I find today that the bottom of the bottom bag is wet. The wet part of the grains has some white mush on them. They smell very slightly sour. Anyone know what happened? I know for sure there wasn't any water in the bucket before I put the grains in.

Also, only some of the bottom bag was wet. You think these grains can still be used for a Hefe brew tomorrow? Thanks.

if they smell sour, they will taste sour.

I can't explain why they would get wet. Doesn't make any sense. I would have suggested that the bucket was wet, but you're insisting it wasn't.

Did something get spilled into it?

Walker said:

if they smell sour, they will taste sour.

I can't explain why they would get wet. Doesn't make any sense. I would have suggested that the bucket was wet, but you're insisting it wasn't.

Did something get spilled into it?

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Yeah the bucket was dry, it was my bottling bucket that I hadn't used for half a year. I don't think anything was spilled into it because the bags of grain stacked on top of the bottom one look OK.

It might be that the sugars in the grains - which were now exposed because the protective hull was broken - pulled water from the air. In general sugars readily bind up water and it seems to me that grain sugars in particular tend to do this. This is why DME clumps up as soon as it sees even a little bit of humidity. So, that explains the wetness. Then, as soon as enough moisture accumulated, it allowed bacerteria or mold to grow on the grains - that's the sour smell.

No matter if I'm right or wrong, you don't want to use those grains man. You are in for some funky brew if you do.