Can Grain go bad?

[Beer-Baron]

Hi everyone,

I'm a brand new All Grain brewer with one batch under my belt. I have done some extract brews for the past year or so.

The local brew club is doing a Grain Bulk Buy and I'm wondering if its possible to order to much grain?

I'm thinking about buying 2 sacks of 2-row and that should keep me up and running for quite some time. But can my grain go stale or anything?

Any risks in having to much grain?

THANK YOU!

 

[boo boo]

I have grain 2 years old and nothing wrong with it, but I keep it dry and cool.

 

[McMalty]

Your grain can definitely go stale, i know that, but how quickly, idk

 

[mendnwngs]

I bought a rubbermaid garbage can with a tight fitting lid.. I can keep 2 almost full bags of grain in it.

Stored in this way, away from light, heat, and moisture grain should keep for a couple years.

Once its crushed tho, ideally you want to use grain within a week, a couple days is better.

 

[Beer-Baron]

I bought a rubbermaid garbage can with a

Once its crushed tho, ideally you want to use grain within a week, a couple days is better.

Really? This I didn't know. I have a few bags of pre crushed specialty grains that I've been using. Everything has turned out fine. Is my beer not as tasty?

 

[MalFet]

I bought a rubbermaid garbage can with a tight fitting lid.. I can keep 2 almost full bags of grain in it.

Stored in this way, away from light, heat, and moisture grain should keep for a couple years.

Once its crushed tho, ideally you want to use grain within a week, a couple days is better.

Good storage is definitely important. But I heard an interview with one of the chief maltsters at Briess who claimed that crushing grains only slightly decreased shelf life. I'm sure there are a lot of factors that go into it, but I've never noticed any problems with crushed storage over reasonable time frames.

 

[RedHouse]

I just bought my first 50lb sack of 2 row. I split it into two 5 gallon buckets with tight fitting lids that have an o ring in them. Should be good for awhile.

 

[jwatkins56550]

Dark roasted grains have almost an infinite shelf life according to briess.

My guess would be storing crushed grains allows for moisture pick up much quicker which is never good.

 

[MalFet]

My guess would be storing crushed grains allows for moisture pick up much quicker which is never good.

Certainly, but the question is whether it's twice as fast, twenty times as fast, or two hundred times as fast...

 

[mendnwngs]

Ah, interesting stuff here.

LHBS was where I heard to use crushed grain pretty quickly, it appears they may have been off the mark a bit.

Good to know..

 

[Beer-Baron]

Hmmmm. So maybe I will order 2 sacks of 2 - row. That will probably be good for me for like 2 years.

 

[rycov]

My guess would be storing crushed grains allows for moisture pick up much quicker which is never good.

this makes sense. but if you're storing them in a cool dry place like you should then there shouldn't be that much moisture to begin with

(not speaking from experience just thinking out loud)

 

[mendnwngs]

Hmmmm. So maybe I will order 2 sacks of 2 - row. That will probably be good for me for like 2 years.

Remember, you can use 8-14+ Lbs of base malt for each 5 Gal batch.

So, at, say 10 Lbs base malt per brew, a bag is still only going to last 5 batches.

at 1 batch per month, you'll go through 2.4 bags a year.

 

[Gwitz]

I just got back from a 8 month brewing hiatus, im using grain i bought before my last batch. So far everything is tasting fine, but i guess i wont really find out for a month.

 

[mux11]

I was just about to ask a question like this. Im getting everything wrangled up so I can attempt my first AG and didnt know if I should wait to get the grains till i was ready.
Thanks!

 

[ArcaneXor]

Be sure to check for weevils regularly. If you catch them soon enough after they hatch, you can save the grain by freezing,flushing with CO2 or argon, or adding bentonite to the storage vessel. If the inflection gets out of hand, you pretty much have to throw out the grain. That tends to happen most frequently with flaked grains (especially maize/corn) and Briess malts.

 

[emjay]

Man you're an SOB!

I said it on the list but I'll put it here too:

Gamma seal lids on standard pails make for the ultimate grain storage.

 

[Beer-Baron]

Yes I am an SOB!

haha!

Thanks for the advice everyone.

What about just putting the grain in a clean garbage bag and sqeezing out most of the air and then tying if off air tight? Would that work so long as its stored in my cool basement?

 

[ryan0914]

I use Homer buckets from Home depot. I think there like $6 for bucket and lid. 1 bucket will hold just about 1/2 a bag. The lids also have a seals build in.

 

[Scut_Monkey]

I use Homer buckets from Home depot. I think there like $6 for bucket and lid. 1 bucket will hold just about 1/2 a bag. The lids also have a seals build in.

I wouldn't trust the seals on homer buckets for long term storage. I use them as well for storage but I put the grain within an airtight bag that goes inside the bucket.

 

[rockfish42]

Weevils can chew through a plastic bag, your best bet is the aforementioned gamma lids on a bucket or buying a vittle vault with a gamma lid.

 

[Scut_Monkey]

Weevils can chew through a plastic bag, your best bet is the aforementioned gamma lids on a bucket or buying a vittle vault with a gamma lid.

The weevils are already present (egg, larva and pupa) in the grain when you buy it. You aren't keeping them out with gamma lids/vittle vault or a plastic bag. The bag is to keep the air out only while it's protected from other insects and rodents withink the bucket. For the insects already present within the grain it is recommended freezing new bags for a few days before you store it.

 

[ArcaneXor]

The weevils are already present (egg, larva and pupa) in the grain when you buy it. You aren't keeping them out with gamma lids/vittle vault or a plastic bag.

They do help with cross-contamination though. You don't want the bugs from one infected bag to get into the others!

 

[rockfish42]

I'm also curious if weevils can survive the malting process.

 

[Scut_Monkey]

I'm also curious if weevils can survive the malting process.

Not sure. I would imagine they can survive malting but not kilning or roasting for speciality malts.

However, once it's processed (malted/kilned/roasted) it would still be susceptible to infection from insects at the malting facility.

 

[Scut_Monkey]

They do help with cross-contamination though. You don't want the bugs from one infected bag to get into the others!

I can't see this being likely with a somewhat sealed homer bucket and the grain being contained within a bag.

 

[ArcaneXor]

I can't see this being likely with a somewhat sealed homer bucket and the grain being contained within a bag.

I thought you meant that the buckets are useless because the weevils are already in the kernels - my bad. They, of course, serve the dual purpose of keeping infections inside the bucket, while preventing weevils from the outside getting in.

 

[Scut_Monkey]

I thought you meant that the buckets are useless because the weevils are already in the kernels - my bad. They, of course, serve the dual purpose of keeping infections inside the bucket, while preventing weevils from the outside getting in.

No I wouldn't leave grain stored for extended periods just in a bag. I wasn't very clear in my post. I just find the vittles vaults and gamma lids to be expensive for how many we need to store a few bags of grain. I'm sure they work good I just haven't found a need for them personally.

 

[jfr1111]

I buy all my grain precrushed since I don't have a mill. I have used grain that was 3 months old without any problem, altough the efficiency was a bit lower: it could be anything though, and not the grain per se. I store my grain in a plastic bag inisde a rubbermaid airtight bucket.

I taste everything before using it and there was no difference in the "crunch" under the teeth, so no increased moisture content. If cereal without any preservatives doesn't go bad in a few months, why would crushed grain do so ?

 

[smokinghole]

No I wouldn't leave grain stored for extended periods just in a bag. I wasn't very clear in my post. I just find the vittles vaults and gamma lids to be expensive for how many we need to store a few bags of grain. I'm sure they work good I just haven't found a need for them personally.

I keep all mine in a bag simply because I go through it fast enough that I don't see the need to buy other containers. I haven't had a bag last longer than six months.

 

[Beer-Baron]

All Great info here. Thanks for everyones input. I'm gonna run over to Home depot and see what they got!