How do I store 25kg of DME?

[justflow1983]

I posted this in the Extracts forum but wanted to see if I got any different ideas from here:

My Local online home brew shop has 25kg bags of light DME for the same price as 4 3kg bags. While this is a huge cost savings, how does one actually store the stuff without getting 25kg of toffee...?

Also, does the beer taste less fresh if the extract gets stale?

I'd love to shave 15 euros off the cost of a brew day, but not if I'm going to have a giant lump of DME and stale tasting beer.

Any thoughts? I'm probably leaving Ireland in about 18 months or so I'm sticking to extract brewing to keep my equipment level light, but extract's expensive!

 

[bakins]

air tight buckets? I have a bulk bag as well, but have yet to open it (got behind on brewing). So, I'm interested in suggestions as well.

 

[Reedwalker]

Food Saver (Vacuum Packer) - I keep my DME in a Food Saver vac sealed bag. It's a bit difficult to get the seal initially. I figured out to use a paper towel in the bag just before the seal. This keeps the sticky powder from corrupting the seal. The food saver bags come in rolls. So you can literally choose how big to make the bags. So when you do "package" your bulk DME, you can pre-weigh the packages. They're not cheap, but they sure are nice for buying bulk.

 

[homebrewer_99]

My 55# boxes come in a box and are double bagged inside.

 

[justflow1983]

My 55# boxes come in a box and are double bagged inside.

Yea but do you just dip in as needed and store it as it comes? I don't think I could get away with that here with Ireland's humidity, I'd have to separate I think.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Sorry, I missed that...if you have humidity problems I would definitely recommend pre-measuring, re-bagging and using as needed.

I visited Ireland once, but I didn't think it was humid.

 

[justflow1983]

Were you distracted by the constant rain?

 

[homebrewer_99]

I never saw rain in Ireland...and don't go saying I wasn't there...

 

[justflow1983]

I believe you, the week I came here to visit before I moved here (already had the job) it was 80 and sunny the whole time... its been like that maybe 10 days in the 2 years since.

Well I'm glad that there doesn't seem to be staleness issues, my brew buddy was skeptical of the freshness of 25kg, although I think we could kill the bag by christmas if we wanted to.

 

[Richardwhittaker]

If you have an extra corny keg(say one that will not hold pressure) you could likely store it in that.