170lbs of grain

[Bradinator]

I got a mill for my birthday and decided to bypass my LHBS and go straight to the supplier for my grain at a huge cost savings. The only problem was it is nearly a 4 hour commute. So with this in mind I bought a lot of grain.

Now I need to store it.

If I brew once a month give or take, I should be able to use this up in under 2 years. I have read several threads and found that some people will say it keeps for years if cool and dry and a few others that think its not worth the risk to use old grain.

I have several large rubbermaid totes that I could store it in, but I know they are far from air-tight. I was also considering buying a ton of ziploc bags and go through the arduous process of getting all that grain in them. I should not that most of the year its cool and dry here and I would store it in my basement.

Does anyone have any experience in storing grain for extended periods of time?

 

[kapbrew13]

Make 12% RIS that call for 30lbs of grain. That would only be 6 batches.

Or sell to other local brewers at a discounted rate?
Or get friends involved in this madness.

 

[Germelli1]

I get the orange home depot buckets. They seal VERY well (not sure if completely air tight) and they have a gasket under the lid. 1 bucket holds EXACTLY half a sack of grain. They are $2.47 for the bucket and $.97 for the lid here

I got them because they seal well, can stack so they stor well, and the handle makes them easy to move around

 

[Rivenin]

while it would be a ton of ziplock bags, i'd go that route, i dont keep mine in something non air tight unless i'm brewing within a day or two (dont wanna chance bugs is the main one). however if you have ziplocks, totes, and a cool place, they should keep for quite awhile. You could always get some of those packs of silica gel stuff and toss it in. or, maybe a saltine cracker or two in each to absorb any humidity.

:EDIT:

forgot about these
http://www.walmart.com/ip/IRIS-Airt...ner=jXot6eVeYJg&sourceid=38456886031804426378
you can find them at target, dog/catfood section :thumbup: they are pretty cheap for what they are

 

[user 21663]

I use a 50lb vittle vault for my grain. I haven't kept grain around for 2 years, but 1 year easily and it still makes good beer.

 

[BrewThruYou]

Here's what I do:

Unopened bags go into large (I think 36gal) Sterilite latch totes. I can fit 3 55lb bags per tote. It looks neater too than just stacking the sacks on top of each other.

Once I open the bags, I put them into 5gal Homer buckets with lids (gasketed). 55 lbs is usually just over 2 buckets.

For specialty grains, I bought small see-through sterilite containers and keep the grains inside ziploc bags inside them (I'm anal). I mostly re-use Northern Brewer's bags (perfect for 1lb of grain), but can use regular ziplocs if I don't have enough NB bags.

Make sure to label everything. You don't want 6 homer buckets full of grain with no labels.

 

[wildwest450]

Dedicated, temp controlled grain storage.

 

[Boleslaus]

Dedicated, temp controlled grain storage.

That looks awesome
Doomsday vault for grain.

 

[BryceL]

My local shop uses these...

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2811537&lmdn=Category

I use them for my dog food and they seal great. I'm looking to start buying grains in bulk, so I'm planning on using them. I'd say you could get about 50# of grain in them.

 

[Bradinator]

Thanks for the advice everybody. What is the longest any of you have kept grain around? I am thinking about going the homer bucket way to be economical...

 

[Sithdad]

I just finished up some crushed marris otter that I bought from a group buy here on HBT. They were at least 1 year old. Maybe closer to 1 1/2 years ago. My efficiency was always the same and flavor never suffered. I do store them in 80# air tight pet food containers from Tractor Supply Store.

 

[Hernando]

My local shop uses these...

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2811537&lmdn=Category

I use them for my dog food and they seal great. I'm looking to start buying grains in bulk, so I'm planning on using them. I'd say you could get about 50# of grain in them.

You can get these at a COSTCO for 26.00

 

[JJL]

I use this, except I have the 50lb version.

 

[brian2can]

I get the orange home depot buckets. They seal VERY well (not sure if completely air tight) and they have a gasket under the lid. 1 bucket holds EXACTLY half a sack of grain. They are $2.47 for the bucket and $.97 for the lid here

I got them because they seal well, can stack so they stor well, and the handle makes them easy to move around

++1 I do the same Get 2 55 lb bags and put them in buckets.

 

[Boleslaus]

I just finished up some crushed marris otter that I bought from a group buy here on HBT. They were at least 1 year old. Maybe closer to 1 1/2 years ago. My efficiency was always the same and flavor never suffered. I do store them in 80# air tight pet food containers from Tractor Supply Store.

You stored crushed grain for over a year?

 

[pjj2ba]

I buy the very large ziploc bags (30 gal?) and a full grain bag will just fit inside. I squeeze the air out when I close it

 

[makomachine]

I buy the very large ziploc bags (30 gal?) and a full grain bag will just fit inside. I squeeze the air out when I close it

Where do you buy those? Never seen them that large before in my local stores.

 

[BBKing]

Make 12% RIS that call for 30lbs of grain. That would only be 6 batches.

Or sell to other local brewers at a discounted rate?
Or get friends involved in this madness.

This.

Especially the last

 

[sketerbuck]

I have used those bags that you hook the vacuum to and suck all the air out. They work great.

 

[madbaldman]

I've never stored malted barley for long periods but I have stored other grains (rice, beans, etc) for the long term. I've been using 5+ year old beans that are good as new. The big problem is insect infestation. Two ways of dealing with that are placing grains in a sealed container and freezing them for a couple weeks to kill pest eggs (yes, they are in there). Two liter soda bottle are good for this method but may be a bit small for brewing quantities. Another method is to seal the grains in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers. Once the oxygen is scavenged, the pest eggs will die.

Here's a site that outlines the process:
http://www.americanpreppersnetwork.com/2011/03/storing-beans-and-rice-in-mylar-bags.html

 

[AnOldUR]

 

[Bradinator]

Epic. How long do you keep those in the homer buckets for?

 

[AnOldUR]

Epic. How long do you keep those in the homer buckets for?

Turn over base grains (Maris Otter, Wheat, Pils, Munich . . .) in 2-6 months. Specialty and adjuncts last a year or more with no negative effects. Stored in basement that’s 60-70 degrees year round.

 

[pjj2ba]

Originally Posted by pjj2ba View Post
I buy the very large ziploc bags (30 gal?) and a full grain bag will just fit inside. I squeeze the air out when I close it

Where do you buy those? Never seen them that large before in my local stores.

I think it was at Target

 

[JonBoy47]

I got a mill for my birthday and decided to bypass my LHBS and go straight to the supplier for my grain at a huge cost savings. The only problem was it is nearly a 4 hour commute

just out of curiosity dosnt a four hour commute offset the savings of buying bulk? Or are the price diferences that far apart? Or do you drive a delorean that runs on garbage?

 

[supermoth]

Also, a bin made for 50 lbs of dog food will hold much more than 50 lbs of grain, because kibble is bulkier. I bought a dog food bin recently and emptied a 50 lb sack into it, and I probably could have gotten 70 lbs of grain in there.

 

[osagedr]

Also, a bin made for 50 lbs of dog food will hold much more than 50 lbs of grain, because kibble is bulkier. I bought a dog food bin recently and emptied a 50 lb sack into it, and I probably could have gotten 70 lbs of grain in there.

This is true. I once bought a 50 lb container of goose down and after I was done making pillows it held 7 tons of pilsner malt.

 

[Germelli1]

This is true. I once bought a 50 lb container of goose down and after I was done making pillows it held 7 tons of pilsner malt.

 

[trimpy]

I've had no problem keeping whole grain in Rubbermaid Roughneck containers for over a year in a nice dry temp stable area. The 14 gal just barely fit a 50# sack... I prefer the taller 18gal size.

 

[madbaldman]

Has no one experienced any kind of pest infestation with grains stored 1+ years?