storage of milled grain

Well, I had two brews planned for today, a cherry wheat and a porter. I've got to work tomorrow and will be taking a weekend trip after that. Problem is, I didn't get to brew either batch today and won't get another chance until monday or tuesday. So, how long with the *cracked* grain keep? It's in brown paper sacks now but I could put those in garbage backs and put it in the freezer or fridge if necessary. I did a search BTW and all the storage discussions are only about unmilled grain. Thanks!

I usually mill my grain a day or two before I'm going to brew, and throw it in my mash tun. I have gone anywhere from 5-7 days with milled grain in the mash tun and have not encountered any issues yet. As long as it's dry it shouldn't pose and issue, if it's used within a reasonable amount of time.

Keep it dry and cool if possible and it will be ok for 3-4 weeks. Starts getting stale after that.

I'll second what David said.

-a.

Are you all sure about this? I am too cheap to buy a good roller mill, so I buy my 50 lb bags of malt pre-crushed. I store them in a rubbermaid container in a dry and cool location - my basement.

I have not noticed it going stale. I would really like to know more about this. Does anyone have links to articles, books, etc. in which maltsters discuss the proper way to handle and store the products they sell?

sonvolt said:

Are you all sure about this? I am too cheap to buy a good roller mill, so I buy my 50 lb bags of malt pre-crushed. I store them in a rubbermaid container in a dry and cool location - my basement.

I have not noticed it going stale. I would really like to know more about this. Does anyone have links to articles, books, etc. in which maltsters discuss the proper way to handle and store the products they sell?

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Anyone is going to tell you that any vegetation stores best when it has the least exposure to O2. If you purchased a vacuum sealer, your grains would stay fresher longer, but even more so if you put them in the freezer. Mold and bactieria require which three things? Darkness, Dampness, and Warmth. A basement has all three.

This is from the FAQ at Cargill's website.

Question
Can pre-milled malted barley be used for mashing? If so, how long will the pre-milled malt last in the storage before you see deteriation of the malt?
Posed by Pat Robertson, Fernie BC Ca on April 26, 2002

Answer
The beauty of pre-milled malt is that it is ready to go into the mash. As long as the malt is kept in an air tight container, free of moisture and pests, the malt should be stable up to three months.

As is true with any brewing ingredient, fresh is better.

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Since my grain is sealed in rubbermaid and my basement is dry, free of sunlight, and cool, I am thinking that my milled grain is going to last quite a while. I often check it for oxidation and staleness by chewing some and smelling it, but I have not noticed any bad things happening to my malt. I have not yet had a bag last me over three months, though.

Sometimes I think that we homebrewers get a little too anal about our methods . . .

No doubt that grain will last longer if it is portioned out into little bags, vacuum sealed, and stored away in a freezer . . . but I'm not sure it is worth the effort. I know brewers who buy bags fo milled malt and store them in their basements without even sealing them - they just roll up the top of the paper bag the grains came in!

And, ya know . . . their beer is damn good!!

wrt Lost's situation, no special steps are necessary other than to not leave the grains out in the rain. Just roll up the brown paper sacks and tape them shut...there won't be any appreciable degradation between now and Tuesday.

wrt to the larger question, I've never kept milled grains more than a few days. Even when I've ordered them off the intarweb I've brewed within a week of them being shipped. Most anecdotal information I've read has been in line with what sonvolt posts, 2-3 months for milled. I've read 1yr for whole. Barley does have a small amount of oil in it which will eventually go rancid, but this can be staved off with cool, dry conditions. I've heard bugs are another issue, but I've never experience that phenomenon.

I vacuum seal my whole grains (don't buy in bulk yet) because I can and they way they harden up like bricks amuses me.

Baron von BeeGee said:

I vacuum seal my whole grains (don't buy in bulk yet) because I can and they way they harden up like bricks amuses me.

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I bought a couple of vacuum-seal garment storage bags yesterday to store our sweaters until Winter and my wife's Maternity clothes until they're needed again.

They're about $8.00 each and reusable. I bet they'd work great for bulk grain/DME buyers. I wouldn't dump everything from the original bag to the reusable bag, i'd put the original bag INSIDE the reusable bag and vacuum it air-tight.

Yeah . . . until I start brewing so slowly that I can't get through a 50 lb bag in 3 months, I don't plan on changing my grain storage method.

As for the freezer, and Lost's original question, wouldn't it be advisable not to put the grain in the freezer unless it was vacuum sealed? Freezer's tend to add weird freezerish tastes to things that aren't properly sealed.

Lost, if I were you, I would RDWHAHB . . . and brew that beer when you can. Your grain will be fine, and I would rather leave it in a dark dry place than risk having my beer taste like my freezer. If you can vacuum seal, then the freezer may be a good option - but unecessary IMHO.

Old grain may induce chill haze. I had some unmilled crystasl lying around for over a year, and used them in a Porter. You could hardly tell the difference in the final product, READ-no chill haze

glibbidy said:

Old grain may induce chill haze. I had some unmilled crystasl lying around for over a year, and used them in a Porter. You could hardly tell the difference in the final product, READ-no chill haze

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Chill haze would be pretty hard to see in a porter anyway, wouldn't it?

Walker-san said:

Chill haze would be pretty hard to see in a porter anyway, wouldn't it?

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Yes. In this case there was no apperent chill haze once the beer warmed up. This specific batch was almost dark red in color, definitely not the stereotypical brown associated with porters.

glibbidy said:

Yes. In this case there was no apperent chill haze once the beer warmed up. This specific batch was almost dark red in color, definitely not the stereotypical brown associated with porters.

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why would there be chill haze after the beer warmed up? isn't chill haze only present when the beer is, umm, chilled?

Lou said:

why would there be chill haze after the beer warmed up? isn't chill haze only present when the beer is, umm, chilled?

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There shouldn't be any chill haze once the beer is warmed up., and yes it only occurs when the beer is chilled.

Thanks for all the replies guys. It's always nice to have access to so many knowledgeable people

The two batches are each sealed in a brown paper sack taped shut and place in a garbage bag with the air pressed out. I put it in the fridge. I'll brew it monday or tuesday so I'm thinking it'll be fine. The two batches are a cherry wheat and porter... I thought about putting some CO2 in the bag to purge the air out but thought that might be over kill. I can't wait to get these batches done and kegged

Cheesefood said:

Mold and bactieria require which three things? Darkness, Dampness, and Warmth. A basement has all three.

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Not all basements are dungeons!

Yeah, kept for that timeframe it wouldn't hurt. I vac seal and pre weigh my grain and I buy by the sack. I agree with the Barron..... I like the way the grain bricks up when vac sealed. lol.

I bought three batches worth of milled grain, and I only brew every other month. I'm going to gamble that, while not ideal, this will still make very good beer. It's not as if grain are spices. And I'm sure no one out there has any ground up spices that are six weeks old...