Just bought 50lbs of crushed 2 Row

[brennanj11]

Needless to say I'm a little upset about this. I have a mill at home and storing this grain in a somewhat airtight container is a possibility, but I have no idea how long the grains viability will stay. Didn't find out until I opened the breiss bag at home, called the LHBS and he said it would be OK in two home Depot buckets. Which sounds like non sense to me cause there is no way 50lbs is fitting in only two gal buckets, but whatever.

I keep seeing in previous threads, keep in a cool, airtight container in a dark place.
My basement is 70 degress it's in an airtight container, but I want to know how much time I actually have here. Should I be trying to brew as much as possible in the coming month? What's the downside? Does it go stale.
I'm thinking about trying get to sell to my friends so I break even.
It's a pretty hefty investment of time and money and I feel kind of ****ty about it.

 

[mattd2]

I think the LHBS meant 2x 5 gallon buckets.
Did you accidently order it crushed or did the vender stuff up and send it to you crushed? If you have friends that will take it I would opt for that route, just try use it up a quick as possible. Whats the biggest batch size you do? As you could get through it in 5 batches. Or less if you do some really high grav beers, IIIPA / Barley Wine / RIS, 5 gallons of one of them could "get rid of" 20# of grain.
Good luck

 

[z-bob]

50 lbs fits in two 5-gallon buckets, unless it really fluffs up when you grind it. That's how I store mine.

Whole malt is good for a year or more if you store it well. Ground will obviously age faster, but how long will it take you use use 50 pounds? If 6 to 8 months, I wouldn't worry about it. I might not be *happy* about it, but I wouldn't worry.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Since you seem upset, and provide no timeline for how quickly you intend to use it, you should take it back for exchange at your LHBS.

If you keep it, I would advise storing it upstairs in a temp / humidity controlled environment rather than in a basement.

Unless you requested milled grain, the LHBS gave you the wrong product IMO and they should refund or exchange.

 

[madscientist451]

No reason to worry about it, you already have your own answer: See if anyone you knows who brews can use any and get rid of it as fast as you can.

 

[Kharnynb]

I buy ground malt in 25 kg bags, since i don't have a mill(yet).

Just vacuum pack it in 1 kg bags and put those in a decent box in the cellar, easy to pick up a few when I need them to brew and there really shouldn't be much trouble if used up within 6 months.

 

[brennanj11]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. My mind is a little more at ease now, posted tihs before i did a little more research.
This is the airtight container I have.
I'll probably do a combination of storing in a 5 Gal Home Depot bucket with a lid (since it is not clear); uping the ABV of my Pale Ale; covering the container with a sheet and waiting it out. I'm hopefully brewing 2 - 5 Gallon Batches this weekend. So that should take care of 14 lbs. Also have a De-humidifier in the basement set at 55, hopefully the airtight seal is good enough to take care of any moisture issues.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Yea, I would just roll the sack closed and put it in your container. With 55% humidity, I would probably just roll the sack closed and call it good. B/w the dehumidifier, and your storage tote I don't think you have reason to worry, especially seeing as how a 1/3 of the grain will be consumed this weekend.

 

[brennanj11]

Hey Guys,

I know this wasn't a popular thread, but I wanted to follow up on a few of the questions that were asked previously and provide an update.
Since my original post I brewed 5 6 Gal Batches. I still have about 20 lbs left and will be halting my brewing in Mid/Late November, when it really starts getting cold in Philly.

Whats the best place/environment to store this grain?
I decided to store in a clear airtight container that I believe it was meant for pet food.
The basement where the container is at an average of 66-68 and has a de-humidifier running @ 55.

What about points per grain, will the efficiency drop?
The first three batches, I used were in within the month of me buying the crushed grain.
The fourth was 2 months later. For any of these batches, I have not missed the intended/calculated OG pre-boil.

Additional thoughts.
Although the grain has seemed fresh so far, I doubt the remaining 20lbs will make it through to next March. However, I am planning on brewing twice more before the season is over so that should knock off another 15 or so lbs.

I got this idea when looking at the front page of HBT last month. I could simply make beer with the left over grain and can the wort for starters for next year.

 

[Kharnynb]

20 lbs is about 2 batches of decent belgian quad/tripel, put em aging ;D

 

[dwhite60]

Put it in an air tight bucket but, before you put the top on, drop a piece of dry ice in the container and let it dissolve before you put the lid on. The CO2 is heaver than air and will displace the air in the container. Thus, you'll have your grain stored in a protective jacket of CO2.

A friend of mine makes his own bread and buys wheat in bulk. This is how he stores it.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[rupert130]

Why not just use up the remaining 20# in your planned brew days? Then you won't have to worry about the crushed grain "going bad" over the next 5-6 months.

 

[MaxStout]

Use up what you can before winter. Maybe you have some other leftover grains and can put it all together for a "bonus beer" or something?

If you end up keeping the grains, put it in gallon ziploc bags and throw them in your freezer.

 

[pricelessbrewing]

Have you ever wanted to try a big beer? Now's a good opportunity. Attempt a barleywine, or one of the stronger IPAs or belgians. 9% dubbel, DIPA, wee heavy, old ale, golden strong or dark strong ales are all delicious styles that have rather large percentages of base malt.

 

[secondbase]

Brew 10 gallons of barleywine, then ten gallons of imperial stout. Problem solved

 

[oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

That should last you about 2 weeks. Better order another before the week end.

 

[Cyclman]

+1 on a Quad or Barleywine.

Or, other strong beers (doppelbock, RIS, etc.) that will take a very long time to age. When I have too big a pipeline, and still have a hankering to brew, I do this. Year later, I have a huge, aged beer to enjoy. I have some 3YO Wee Heavy to put into my beer fridge soon.