Weevil in grain - Dump or brew?

[Gravity]

I was planning a brew session, and wanted to organize a couple of things - primarily grains to mill - when low and behold; weevils - everywhere

This has happened before, however not to this degree - the question is dump or brew on?

I've learned my lesson for future storage

Pics attached

Thoughts?

 

[madscientist451]

Its kind of nasty, but the hot water in the mash and then the 60 minute boil will get rid of the bugs for sure.
I'd brew some monster barley wines and use it all up ASAP.
Name it Weevil Wine, put a dead bug on the labels.
I keep my grain in sealed buckets, its stored in an unheated space, but I have worried about bug problems. After seeing your post, I'm going to try to use up all my older grain soon.

 

[Gravity]

Right - i've done that before, brewed with weevils and all

This looked, and smelled different - i'm thinking of dumping it

Which sucks cause its like 100# more or less of Marris Otter and Wheat

I'm drinking the beer a made with the grain pre-weevil infestation- very nice

I've been slacking though on my brewery upkeep - I made my bed

 

[passedpawn]

Uh... smelled different? I've had infestations (not quite that bad though). I don't remember any difference in smell. Normally I'd say brew with it, but a bad smell would change my mind.

 

[wheels4]

I too have brewed with them before but not to that degree. That is a ton of little critters for sure. I would dump and chalk it up to lesson learned. As a side note I had them in my Wheat once and it was stored in a sealed bucket.

 

[Beer-lord]

I use Vittles buckets and twice I got grains that had weevils in it and I just dumped it. Once they were all dead as I assume they died from lack of oxygen but never as bad as you show it.
Not sure how you keep your grains but maybe look into that protects the grains a bit better.
It's painful to dump, I know from experience.

 

[S-Met]

Bad smell is not a good sign. Maybe grind a cup or 2 and make a mini-mash and test it.

I believe all grain has potential weevils. A few says at sub-0 temp wipes them out. Do you have room in your freezer? Freee the bag when you get a new batch, then defrost and store in sealed containers.

 

[Vale71]

Are you seriously considering brewing with it?
Forget the insects, they've been taking a dump in the malt for how long? Do you really want that in your beer?

 

[shoengine]

I'm always one to follow my nose in these matters. Your nose will alert you of spoilage before any other sense.

 

[ESBrewer]

I would definitely dump the grain ASAP, before those bugs take hold over all the other sacks and the brewery. Malt is the most important ingredient in beer and its quality is the most important factor when brewing good beer and all insects in brewery are possible source of microbial contamination as well. If they have laid eggs in the malt, more flying things will pop up later (and it may even be impossible to remove all those adults from the grain).

 

[Gravity]

Bad smell is not a good sign. Maybe grind a cup or 2 and make a mini-mash and test it.

I believe all grain has potential weevils. A few says at sub-0 temp wipes them out. Do you have room in your freezer? Freee the bag when you get a new batch, then defrost and store in sealed containers.

Thats a good idea - a mini-mash

All grain has weevils, its inevitable - part of the harvesting

I've never done it, however, freezing sounds like a good idea, but wouldn't the defrost/moisture ruin the grain?

 

[Gravity]

I would definitely dump the grain ASAP, before those bugs take hold over all the other sacks and the brewery. Malt is the most important ingredient in beer and its quality is the most important factor when brewing good beer and all insects in brewery are possible source of microbial contamination as well. If they have laid eggs in the malt, more flying things will pop up later (and it may even be impossible to remove all those adults from the grain).

I decided to dump it - you're right best not risk it
Although, in theory, the weevils are harmless - they just look gross
Its almost a mind over matter kind of thing
Anyway - lesson learned

 

[kevin58]

The weevils may be harmless but in those numbers there are more things than eggs to worry about. Like dead weevil carcasses and weevil **** and piss. There's your smell by the way. And if it's happened before it's because they are now loose in your brewing area and reproducing elsewhere. You need an extermination my friend or it will never end.

 

[MaxStout]

*View's OP's pics*

Seriously, dump the grain. Any other grain you have that hasn't become infested yet should be put in the freezer for several days to kill off any eggs. While that grain is in the freezer, call in an exterminator. It'll cost some $$, but it will help prevent a recurrence.

Edit: Buy some 5 gallon buckets with Gamma Seal lids to store grain after you freeze-treat it. It'll prevent other critters from getting at it.

 

[OG-wan Kenobi]

Dump it and fast

 

[Vale71]

All grain has weevils, its inevitable - part of the harvesting

Grain is washed thoroughly before being malted and any living thing will not survive the malting process. Anything you find crawling around your malt crawled in while malt was being stored.

 

[Gravity]

*View's OP's pics*

Seriously, dump the grain. Any other grain you have that hasn't become infested yet should be put in the freezer for several days to kill off any eggs. While that grain is in the freezer, call in an exterminator. It'll cost some $$, but it will help prevent a recurrence.

Edit: Buy some 5 gallon buckets with Gamma Seal lids to store grain after you freeze-treat it. It'll prevent other critters from getting at it.

Point taken

I'll look into freezing grains - I do have 2 chest freezers, however they have been retrofitted for fermenting temps - not freezing; I think the temps hit low 30s for lagering , i'll see

I usually buy in bulk, then brew consecutively - however, i've admittedly been too busy (read: lazy) to brew

I'll see what the exterminator says

Thanks

 

[gnor]

Brew it. Worse case, you are going to dump it anyway.

 

[beernutz]

Interesting article about those pests, called Lesser Grain Borers, here: https://nationalhomebrew.com.au/brewers-blog/bugs-in-your-grain

They apparently can survive the malting process if not sufficiently gassed. In addition to freezing the grain to kill them and their eggs/larve you can flush with C02, although that method is more expensive. There are other recommendations in the article as well.

 

[ApolloSimcoe]

beernutz- thanks for the read. After reading that article there is no way I would brew with that grain. A grain that smells bad isn't going to make a good beer.

 

[Gravity]

Interesting article about those pests, called Lesser Grain Borers, here: https://nationalhomebrew.com.au/brewers-blog/bugs-in-your-grain

They apparently can survive the malting process if not sufficiently gassed. In addition to freezing the grain to kill them and their eggs/larve you can flush with C02, although that method is more expensive. There are other recommendations in the article as well.

I haven’t read the article, I will though

How would you go about flushing with c02? ( might be in the article)

I’ll take a read- thanks

 

[Gravity]

beernutz- thanks for the read. After reading that article there is no way I would brew with that grain. A grain that smells bad isn't going to make a good beer.

I dumped it all

And I agree , i would never use bad smelling grain to make a brew

 

[JohnSand]

I'm a little disappointed. I wanted to hear about the WeevAle.
(Just kidding, that was nasty)

 

[passedpawn]

Just keep an eye out for weevils that left the coop. I had them get from grain to kitchen cabinets, which attracted the attention of the local officials Who knows where they'll show up.

 

[Moose_MI]

^^^^ Very funny pic ... u owe me an iPad. I just stepped on mine trying to squash the bug

 

[MaxStout]

Dammit, Passed! Now I'm scratching my scalp!

 

[Gravity]

I'm a little disappointed. I wanted to hear about the WeevAle.
(Just kidding, that was nasty)

I'm a little disappointed. I wanted to hear about the WeevAle.
(Just kidding, that was nasty)

Oh dear

 

[Gravity]

Follow-up / and double post:

Froze and Pulled the sacks yesterday , the freezer did a really nice job - I didn't' notice any moisture etc.

I'm putting the grains in air-tight containers, adding a couple of packets of desiccants, and flushing the containers with C02.

Heres a couple of questions, which grains take priority?
Which grains should i do this too?

In other words weevils like the lighter stuff (Pale Ale, Pilsner, Wheat) and tend to ignore the darker stuff like Carafa (at least from what i've noticed)

I have:
Wheat (stored as above)
Pale Ale (stored as above)
Pilser (stored as above)
Vienna (stored as above)
Carahell (stored as above)
Carapils Stored as above
Munich ?
Caramunich ?
Rye ?
Carafa ?
Caraaroma ?

I reckon I can do all ; pain in the butt though

 

[Soulshine2]

even if you froze it to kill them , they'll still be there and you're not going to sit there and pick them all out. Save yourself time and dump it.
Before you buy more grains , buy a few buckets with lids that seal . Gamma seals are great .and make sure your grains come packed in sealed vapor proof bags. use a cheap curling iron to reseal them after you pull a batch worth of grain out.
I've done the same with bulk cigar tobacco leaf.

 

[Nagorg]

+1 to dumping. I've used grain that had weevils in it and the beer was great! Improves head retention I think! But that infestation you showed was way worse (way-way worse) and the smell would seal the dump deal!

 

[Gravity]

+1 to dumping. I've used grain that had weevils in it and the beer was great! Improves head retention I think! But that infestation you showed was way worse (way-way worse) and the smell would seal the dump deal!

A bit a clarity - a dumped the whole lot and the "Follow/double post" was about new grain that I bought recently

I froze the new sacks, and later put them in air tight containers that i flushed with CO2 and desiccants

 

[Nagorg]

FWIW, there were weevils in the grain I used today. But a small number and they were dead. I keep my grain in 5 gallon buckets with "gamma" lids that seal pretty tight. I'm glad the weevils were dead and it didnt stop me from brewing today but I'd still rather not see them at all. Maybe I'll think about flushing with CO2 soon...

 

[Bobcatbrewing42]

View attachment 598783 View attachment 598784 View attachment 598785 I was planning a brew session, and wanted to organize a couple of things - primarily grains to mill - when low and behold; weevils - everywhere

This has happened before, however not to this degree - the question is dump or brew on?

I've learned my lesson for future storage

Pics attached

Thoughts?

You must live in the South or somewhere humid. Out west, I've never had a bug in my grain. So much for vegan beer. The protein might not be too bad. A friend of min e in Oregon makes Oyster Stout with real oysters and it is fantastic. What if you put the grain in a kettle in the oven at low temp to try to drive them out?

 

[Soulshine2]

View attachment 598783 View attachment 598784 View attachment 598785 I was planning a brew session, and wanted to organize a couple of things - primarily grains to mill - when low and behold; weevils - everywhere

This has happened before, however not to this degree - the question is dump or brew on?

I've learned my lesson for future storage

Pics attached

Thoughts?

Where did you buy those from , anyway? I'm assuming the grain came shipped in those exact bags...I'm guessing the bug infestation originated at the grain silo if not the field they grew in. Just asking ,so I never buy from there .

 

[MrHadack]

Weevil Story!
Last summer we started finding weevils all over the floor in one of our rooms. They started spreading and getting worse. We couldn't figure out the source of the infestation. All my brewing grain in the basement was fine, as was all the flour and dry goods in the pantry. The weird part was there was a noticeable concentration in one area of the house and they would spread from there.

We were going to get our house resided soon due to some woodpecker damage to the existing siding, and that's when it dawned on me the damage was on the outside of the same wall where we saw the heaviest concentration inside. I went outside and looked, and there were weevils on the side of the house. But still, no apparent source. But that's when it dawned on me: I had a compost pile of spent grain in the backyard over the summer-- I typically dispose of it at the town dump but for whatever reason I couldn't so it just stayed out back. It was 30 feet away from this side of the house. I went over and poked around with a rake. It was infested with everything you can imagine... a squirming pile of spent grain and all sorts of critters. And of course, plenty of weevils. I doused the thing with bug spray, buried the entire mass in a 3 foot deep hole, and a couple days later the problem resolved itself.

 

[passedpawn]

Weevil Story!
Last summer we started finding weevils all over the floor in one of our rooms. They started spreading and getting worse. We couldn't figure out the source of the infestation. All my brewing grain in the basement was fine, as was all the flour and dry goods in the pantry. The weird part was there was a noticeable concentration in one area of the house and they would spread from there.

We were going to get our house resided soon due to some woodpecker damage to the existing siding, and that's when it dawned on me the damage was on the outside of the same wall where we saw the heaviest concentration inside. I went outside and looked, and there were weevils on the side of the house. But still, no apparent source. But that's when it dawned on me: I had a compost pile of spent grain in the backyard over the summer-- I typically dispose of it at the town dump but for whatever reason I couldn't so it just stayed out back. It was 30 feet away from this side of the house. I went over and poked around with a rake. It was infested with everything you can imagine... a squirming pile of spent grain and all sorts of critters. And of course, plenty of weevils. I doused the thing with bug spray, buried the entire mass in a 3 foot deep hole, and a couple days later the problem resolved itself.

I've dumped spent grain for 10+ years behind my house in wooded area. No problem, though there is an awful sourmash smell wafting into the woods for a day or two after brewday. Neighbor behind me once mentioned he thinks animals die regularly back there - haha.

 

[Gravity]

I've dumped spent grain for 10+ years behind my house in wooded area. No problem, though there is an awful sourmash smell wafting into the woods for a day or two after brewday. Neighbor behind me once mentioned he thinks animals die regularly back there - haha.

I've dumped spent grains near my house several times - its awful. Each time i do it I say "never again", then what happens after a long brew day - on side of the house it goes. The smell lingers for what seems ages and people start to notice, and then things start to die.

Rats, and such love spent grains; a while back I had a mouse problem because of it. I was actually going to start another thread about asking people what they actually do with spent grains. I know people say things like.."dog biscuits..bread...compost.."...however, in practice i don't think the average brewer has time/want to make bread from spent grains. And from my experience (and the post about the compost gone awry), I don't want spent grain near my house as compost - so what do you do with spent grains?

 

[Nagorg]

so what do you do with spent grains?

I just dump mine in the trash. I figure it will be one of the "better" things in the landfill and might even help some of the other garbage decompose.

 

[bleme]

You must live in the South or somewhere humid. Out west, I've never had a bug in my grain. So much for vegan beer. The protein might not be too bad. A friend of min e in Oregon makes Oyster Stout with real oysters and it is fantastic. What if you put the grain in a kettle in the oven at low temp to try to drive them out?

I got weevils once, from a LHBS that has since gone out of business in Bakersfield. Luckily, I caught them before they spread!

 

[Gravity]

I just dump mine in the trash. I figure it will be one of the "better" things in the landfill and might even help some of the other garbage decompose.

Thats what I've started to do - the garbage collectors always look confused