Long story short... I slowed way down on my brewing after my 2nd kid was born. Right before I bought sacks of 2 row, Pilsen, and Maris Otter. I used very little before the slow down and have most of it still. It has been stored in food grade buckets with Gamma lids between 65° & 72°F the whole time. The grain is roughly 3 years old now. I'm finally getting ready to brew again! My concern is the condition of the grain. I thought of mixing it in my recipes with fresh grain to ensure I'd have plenty of enzymes but I don't know if that's wise. I will add that the grain smells and tastes ok, but I get so little time to brew anymore I'd hate to waste my time. I am on a budget and hate to waste grain. Anyone have experience?
3 year grain storage?
- Thread starter Kwitty
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JONNYROTTEN
Well-Known Member
I've gotten weevils or some other nasty bug in old grain. I wouldnt use 3 year old grain know matter how it was stored. Your going to go through all the work and time waiting for your beer only to possibly getting a funky off stale beer. A 50# sack of 2 row is like $50....start fresh and move on.
Gnomebrewer
Well-Known Member
I've used 2.5 year old grain (BM dark munich) as the main base malt and it was fine - not as fresh tasting as fresh grain (surprise surprise) but no offensive off flavours either. I'd use it for sure as long as the grain tastes good and there's no mould or weevils (I hate waste) but in recipes with a bit of specialty malt to freshen the flavour a bit.
Taste it.. if it is still crisp and tastes good, and there aren't too many critters, you should be good to go. Even try out a 1 gallon SMaSH and see what you get..
I'm a grain farmer. If you sensitive flowers only knew how old your "fresh" grain really was you'd probably break a leg rushing to the nearest safe space. 
In North America, most malting barley is grown in the northern tier of states or the Canadian prairie provinces. The harvest usually takes place in late summer/early fall. After that, the grain is stored on the farm until the buyer can take delivery. Then, it spends time in transit and storage, and maybe transit again, to the malting facility. There, it spends more time waiting to be processed. After that, the finished malt is in storage and transit again, maybe between more than one middleman, before ending up in inventory at a distributor. Then it sits until someone orders it and it goes into transit, again. If the customer is a LHBS, the grain sits there until purchased. If you're buying genuine British or German malt consider the distance which that has to cover to reach your hot little hands.
Given all of that, right now, in early May, the freshest malt you can buy was still in the field 8-9 months ago. Anything you purchased prior to, say, February, of this year was 2017 harvest. There's still, more than likely, more than a little 2016 harvest sitting on the shelf in a LHBS near you.
Seriously. If the grain has been kept dry and is free of bugs it will be fine.
In North America, most malting barley is grown in the northern tier of states or the Canadian prairie provinces. The harvest usually takes place in late summer/early fall. After that, the grain is stored on the farm until the buyer can take delivery. Then, it spends time in transit and storage, and maybe transit again, to the malting facility. There, it spends more time waiting to be processed. After that, the finished malt is in storage and transit again, maybe between more than one middleman, before ending up in inventory at a distributor. Then it sits until someone orders it and it goes into transit, again. If the customer is a LHBS, the grain sits there until purchased. If you're buying genuine British or German malt consider the distance which that has to cover to reach your hot little hands.
Given all of that, right now, in early May, the freshest malt you can buy was still in the field 8-9 months ago. Anything you purchased prior to, say, February, of this year was 2017 harvest. There's still, more than likely, more than a little 2016 harvest sitting on the shelf in a LHBS near you.
Seriously. If the grain has been kept dry and is free of bugs it will be fine.
Most of my grain is that old. I have had no issues. If it is crisp and tastes like a kernel of grain, I would use it.
If it smells musty or tastes stale - replace it.
If it smells musty or tastes stale - replace it.
It's uncrushed and sealed. Check it for weevils, but if none are found, you should be fine.
BrewnWKopperKat
ʘ‿ʘ
AkTom
Well-Known Member
Dude you’ll die!!!!!!!! Send to me for disposal. I might send the buckets back.
Someone had to say it.
Cheers
Someone had to say it.
Cheers
So brew one batch with it. You'll see first-hand how good or bad it is. I'm betting it'll be fine, and I'd be willing to brew with it.
don't be a hog! he said he had three bags! send one to me.....
Gnomebrewer
Well-Known Member
If it has weevils, make sure you do a protein rest.....
Ok. Test batch it is! I was reading the input in both directions but Grampamark put me over the edge. The grain has been mostly sealed in fairly steady climate. No mold or creapy crawlies detected. I figure I probably treated it better than some warehouse or bulk storage. Worth a shot! I'll give an update after it hits a glass.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Steveruch
Well-Known Member
Do weevils taste like chicken? Substitute them in a cockale.
I could do a Duvel clone and call it Weevel!
JONNYROTTEN
Well-Known Member
I cant even believe most say to use 3 year old grain....that is a long ass time for little money to replace fresh.
And the OP says I'll test it out and see what happens?
Willing to chance more in yeast and hop cost for 3 year old grain.....silly
not to mention the time and effort to "test" old grain
And the OP says I'll test it out and see what happens?
Willing to chance more in yeast and hop cost for 3 year old grain.....silly
not to mention the time and effort to "test" old grain
I am going from personal experience. Most of my grain has been that old for the last few years. The brew before last was one of my best ever..... YMMV. But even if not the best, I am frugal and unless I think it is going to make bad beer, I am going to use it.
Gnomebrewer
Well-Known Member
We might have different definitions of little money......where I buy from, those three sacks of grain would be about $180. That's about what I spend on ingredients in total to brew a dozen kegs of beer.
JONNYROTTEN
Well-Known Member
Curious how you buy enough grain at some point only to have it get 3 years old? Seems odd
The OP took a hiatus from brewing due to family.
If I were in OP's shoes, I'd try to salvage it as well. What's the big deal brewing a test batch that may allow saving ~$200 of malt? If the test brew tastes stale, give away the grain for chicken feed. If it's good, then OP has a nice beer and will have several more brews to look forward to. OP said he's going to brew again anyway. Might as well check out the existing grain.
If I were in OP's shoes, I'd try to salvage it as well. What's the big deal brewing a test batch that may allow saving ~$200 of malt? If the test brew tastes stale, give away the grain for chicken feed. If it's good, then OP has a nice beer and will have several more brews to look forward to. OP said he's going to brew again anyway. Might as well check out the existing grain.
SoCal-Doug
Well-Known Member
I'm dyin laughing at your reply!
The sad part is, in the middle of Nebraska or Iowa, corn and milo can be harvested, at the Cargill plant within a day, be bagged and on semi's within a week, and in a cow's stomach within another week. But the feed market moves a hellova lot faster than the malt market
A combination. I buy sales and bulk to save money. Sometimes I might not brew a style that uses those malts again for a long time. Then there was a move. I did only a couple of brews while getting my house ready for sale so the grain sat there. As I said, I have brewed with these older grains and have gotten some of my best beers from them.... So I don't see any problem if the grain has been stored well. Have you ever tried it? Or are you just going by what you THINK will be negative results?
Thanks to those of you defending my homebrew honor! Family was the reason I took a break. Never meant to be so long! As for those of you that think $150 to $200 worth of grain isn't worth the trouble. I don't take it personal because some people have the luxury of deeper pockets. That's not a shot at anyone, just an observation that we all have different incomes. I make sure my family and household is taken care of and provided for, and then I scrape up the scraps for my hobby. I'm not crying about it, it's just the way it has to be. So if that means I spend $20 on propane hops and yeast for a test batch to possibly save me $150 in grain, I'll take my chances I guess. I know some people spend more than that per week on the lottery! I think my odds are better!
huh?
Member
I got into this hobby to save $150 to $200 here and there. There are plenty of great commercial ciders to buy but I'm sick and tired of paying MD 9% sales tax on cider/beer/wine. The craft and science part is a nice bonus, but I'm in it for the savings and self-sufficiency.
Been there, done that. I'm an empty-nester but I remember when the goal was to get to the end of the month before the end of the money. I was something like 38 years old the first time the money outlasted the month. We didn't go hungry or anything like that, but hamburger helper was pretty standard fare toward the end of the month.
Good on you for having the right priorities. The beer gods will reward you for this with the beer you're going to make using that excellent grain you have stored. I guarantee it!
Thanks. Glad to see there are some who can relate!
