Feed Store Barley

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simzy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 7, 2006
Messages
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Location
Walla Walla, Wa
I'm trying to get my plans together for my first all grain brew. My sister in-law works at a feed store, and can get a great deal on barley. Is there any difference between feed barley and the barley you'd buy from a brew shop?
 
Well for one thing, most brewer's barley is 2-row. Animal Feed barley is 6-row. Also animal feed is just grain - not malt. So unless you have the ability to malt the grain yourself then leave the animal feed to the animals.
 
Why on earth are a feed store selling malted barley?

Don't forget brewers grain is unmalted.

Feed barley Costs $270 per tonne
Brewers barley costs $345 per tonne
Malted it around $400 per tonne

If you are right then I'd go for it. But double check. As far as I know all malsters have their name on the malt sack.
 
I asked my sister in-law if it was malted, she had said she thought the store carried both malted and raw. I'm not too concerned about the difference between 2 and 6 row malt at this point
 
I have a hard time believing that maltsers are going to the trouble of malting (floor malting, tower or otherwise) and then shipping it off for cows to eat.

Barley is malted for the specific purpose of brewing (beer and distilled spirits) and for food additives (cereal, bread, etc...)

Malting.gif

The exception would be if a batch went bad or was well past it's expiration, in which case I doubt you'd want to use it for brewing beer.
 
interesting article, sounds like buying barley from a brewshop is the safe and easy way to go, thanks for all the help again fellas.
 
Good stuff Chees.

One piece of that thing that is on topic:
QUOTE
Farmers typically plant malting varieties and pray for rain. When
protein quality increases due to dry weather, malting barley can
be used for feed more easily than feed varieties can be used for
brewing.
END QUOTE

Maybe your sister was referring to "malting" barley. That is barley intended for the malting mill, but never malted and instead diverted to the feed store.

In this case, it would be useless as a beer ingredient.
 
Don't mean to steer this in the opposite direction, but for a quick question...would steeped grains still have nutritional value for use as horse feed?

I find malted grains in a feed store to be a little odd. Maybe if they've got some hops in a fridge nearby they've made it into a little hybrid feed/brew store!
 
I suspect the store carries raw and rolled or flaked barley. Feed barley tends to be higher in protein than malting barley. However, some malting barley does enter the feed supply chain.

Steiner - Mash waste is often used for cattle feed. Since steeping only removes flavors (and maybe some starch), it should be fine for horses as well.
 
I knew there had to be some sort of difference. Good thing I didn't go out and buy a 50lb bag of cow feed
 
raceskier said:
simzy,

You are in hop country. That is a connection you need to cultivate.

Wait a minute, Seahawks and Bears?


I know there are tons of wineries in walla walla, but haven't seen too many hops farms. I do know that yakima, wa is a great place for hops that isn't too far away. I believe they have a yearly hops festival.

I was raised a hawks fan, and became a bears fan in the early 90's. I still enjoy watching the hawks, and cheer for them when they play the bears.
 
:off: Interesting article, Cheese. However, they seem to be trying really hard to make brewers out to be bad guys for using barley farmers as a 'scapegoat' to justify raising beer prices.

The simple fact is that barley prices are rising b/c supply is low and demand is high - simple econimics. Barley prices have steadily increased. They ended Dec., 2006 with an average $3.19 per bushel price - an increase of about 24% from Dec., 2005. Meanwhile, production had fallen that same year by 15% to 180 million bushels - down from 211.9 million in 2005. The reason most often cited by economists? Droughts in Australia and the Midwest and more farmers choosing to grow different crops like corn and soybeans. Add the rise in fuel costs and hops and, well... you get the idea.:)
 
simzy said:
I know there are tons of wineries in walla walla, but haven't seen too many hops farms. I do know that yakima, wa is a great place for hops that isn't too far away. I believe they have a yearly hops festival.

I was raised a hawks fan, and became a bears fan in the early 90's. I still enjoy watching the hawks, and cheer for them when they play the bears.

You do have the best sweet onions on earth, though! And you were keeping it secret!
 
Sorry i missed this question earlier, I was brewing this weekend and did not get on line.:ban:

Feed barley and malting barley differ in many respects. As indicated here by david, feed barley is higher in protein than malting barley. The feed market prefers higher proteins and the brewer prefers lower protein and higher extracts. In addition, feed barley varieties are selected for their agronomic characteristic (yield, disease resistance, etc). Feed varieties do not have the germination potential, enzyme potential, lower beta-glucan levels, etc of malting barley. In other words, they are two quite different types of barley. Malting feed barley is very difficult and produces very poor brewers malt.

Now simzy, I understand you have access to 'malted" barley from a feed store?? If this is malted barley, it is the smaller kernels or "clean out" from the maltster's production. When a maltster buys a load of barley, there are always some smaller kernels that get malted. After malting, these smaller kernels of malt (called C & D grade) are cleaned out so the plumper A & B grades can be shipped to the brewer. This C & D grade malt is sold for animal feed unless they have a distilling customer who will use this. This smaller, less plump malt has very low extract, high amounts of husk (harsh flavor), high protein, but lots of enzymes for breaking down starch. Distillers like the enzymatic levels for breaking down starch and making whiskey. This C & D grade would mash, but your yield in terms of extract would be low and the beer would be harsh and astringent from the high tannin content for the husk.

Stick with known brewer malts, buying poor quality or cheap malt is not worth it in home brewing. Its a hobby not a business.;)


Dr Malt:mug:
 
thanks for the reply dr. malt. answers like that are the exact reason that I come here to ask my brewing questions.

And yes Lout, we do have the best sweet onions in the world here.
 
In response to that LECG article.

Here are some things that I believe to be facts:

*BMC sales are not growing, or growing very slowly
*Beer sales are growing
*Therefore, non-BMC beer sales growth represent all beer sales growth
*BMC uses tons of adjuncts

Assumptions:
*non-BMC beer uses significantly less adjunct to make the same amount of beer
*since all beer sales growth is non-BMC, any growth in beer sales will create a higher relative demand for barley per beer produced

Defendable conclusion: One reason barley prices might be increasing is that America is drinking less BMC swill, so a smaller percentage of beer is made from corn and rice.

Conspiracy theory:
*BMC is the biggest customer of malt producers
*increase in malt prices will make BMC more cost competitive relative to high-malt beer producers
*BMC is happy about malt price increase, because they will either be able to raise beer prices more than competitors, or grow sales as sales of pricey high malt beers slows down.
*malt producers are happy to charge everyone more for malt

BMC has been in business for a long time people. They know how to compete. They make the best bland pilsner around, market better than Coca-cola, and have amazing supply and distirbution systems. I wouldn't put a little short-term market manipulation past them.
 
I'm a little confused...Are you brewing beer for your horse???I'm not one to judge but that's pretty fuct up. If your gonna get a horse drunk...At least brew him good beer and not the cheap ****.
 
The only thing I have to add, completely off topic to the OPs question was about using sopent grains as animal feed.

I used to work at a fuel alcohol plant. The grain left behind once the sweet wort is off to the fermenter, the remaining grains, after they are dried, are a commodity called DDG or dried distillers grains. At some factories the grains stay in the mash during ferment.

The carbs and sugars that used to be in the grains are (mostly) over in the fermenter now, what is left is pretty much fiber and protein. Some animals will eat DDGs and some won't. If you make a lot of DDGs you hope Farmer Brown down the road has chickens that will eat the stuff. It has been a few years, but DDGs used to be traded in Chicago, though I don't recall which exchange, I was a shovel type employee, not an office type guy.

I put my spent grains on my compost heap until SWMBO complains. From there I have a tree on the way to the fishing hole where I dump spent coffee grounds to attract worms. Some grains can go there too.

just FWIW
 
If the grain is malting quality, what is stopping you from malting it yourself in your house. I am sure you can get some big black trash bags, soak the grain, and malt the grain in the bags, then roast the grain in the oven to stop the malting process and use it to brew. It might not be the most highly mollified malt, but you could always try Decoction Mashing to account for that problem.
 
Donasay said:
If the grain is malting quality, what is stopping you from malting it yourself in your house. I am sure you can get some big black trash bags, soak the grain, and malt the grain in the bags, then roast the grain in the oven to stop the malting process and use it to brew. It might not be the most highly mollified malt, but you could always try Decoction Mashing to account for that problem.

Sounds like a 5 hour brew day turning into a 48 hour session.

I would rather bye grains I know do well - ohhhhh MO.

- WW
 
BeerAg said:
In response to that LECG article.

Here are some things that I believe to be facts:

*BMC sales are not growing, or growing very slowly
*Beer sales are growing
*Therefore, non-BMC beer sales growth represent all beer sales growth
*BMC uses tons of adjuncts

Assumptions:
*non-BMC beer uses significantly less adjunct to make the same amount of beer
*since all beer sales growth is non-BMC, any growth in beer sales will create a higher relative demand for barley per beer produced

Defendable conclusion: One reason barley prices might be increasing is that America is drinking less BMC swill, so a smaller percentage of beer is made from corn and rice.

Conspiracy theory:
*BMC is the biggest customer of malt producers
*increase in malt prices will make BMC more cost competitive relative to high-malt beer producers
*BMC is happy about malt price increase, because they will either be able to raise beer prices more than competitors, or grow sales as sales of pricey high malt beers slows down.
*malt producers are happy to charge everyone more for malt

BMC has been in business for a long time people. They know how to compete. They make the best bland pilsner around, market better than Coca-cola, and have amazing supply and distirbution systems. I wouldn't put a little short-term market manipulation past them.

Interesting take from you there.

I agree with you for the most part.

I do have a question though:

*non-BMC beer uses significantly less adjunct to make the same amount of beer

What are you basing this on as an assumption?

I'll wait for your answer before I respond further.
 
simzy said:
I asked my sister in-law if it was malted, she had said she thought the store carried both malted and raw. I'm not too concerned about the difference between 2 and 6 row malt at this point
make sure it's malted barley not just malt barley:D
 
Thought I would resurrect this thread.

What about using rolled barley from the feed store? Is that any type of an option?

I'm a noob, so be gentle.......
 
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