Heat and Stored Grain

[Clint Yeastwood]

Because I found some undocumented houseguests in a bag of malt, I ordered myself three buckets and screw-on lids.

Question: can I put this in a garage in Florida, or should I go to the trouble of finding a place in the house?

 

[Stikius]

As long as the lids are tight you shouldn't need to worry, depending on the temperature of course. I can see Crisp recommends 5-15°C (41-59°F) but "it should not be prioritised over keeping the malt dry". I guess it also depends on how long you're planning to store it "warm".

https://crispmalt.com/news/brewing-malt-storage-guide/

 

[McMullan]

I suspect it gets pretty warm in Florida. If it's an option to do so, it's good practice to store malt below 15C. Lower the better. Assuming you want to store for a period long enough for bug reproduction to take over your house. The recommended cool storage temperature limits the activity of any bugs, which, under warm enough conditions, likely turn into an infestation. If it really bothers you, and if you're able to, keep the bag of malt in a freezer for a few days, it's likely to kill most of the adult bugs. Repeat to kill any juveniles that subsequently hatch from eggs. Maintaining the low moisture content of malt during storage is really just to stop microbial metabolism, especially bacteria and molds. Why spent mash grains go so rank if left for a day or two.