All-Grain Starters

[Brewsmith]

I have about 8.5 lbs of grain from a hefeweizen recipe that I didn't make. The grain has been sitting around already crushed and I'm not going to use it, but don't want to throw it out. I'm going to use it about a half pound at a time to make all grain starters. I already have a small 2-gallon mash tun and everything can be done on the stove top. I'll just collect about a half gallon of wort and boil it, then pitch the yeast. I don't really care if the grain is stale because the starter liquid ends up getting decanted off the yeast.

 

[Brewsmith]

On second thought...

On inspecting the grain, I see there are bugs in it.

It was a good idea...

 

[SuperiorBrew]

or make a big batch and freeze & freeze or can it, that way you have less work and time invested.

 

[eriktlupus]

bugs smugs your not drinking it are you??

use it any way boiling will kill anything nasty

 

[Brewsmith]

Yeah, but the sight of the bugs crawling around on the grain wasn't appealing. Grain is pretty cheap, relatively, so I chucked it.

 

[DeathBrewer]

c'mon man! it's just a little extra protein!

 

[raceskier]

You can't get grain without any bugs in it, at least not at an affordable price or loaded with pesticide. They are always there, you just have enough of them to notice. You can kill them off with cold or suffocate them with CO2, but the eggs may survive.

Don't waste good grain, use it.

 

[Brewsmith]

It's already gone.

I could see them crawling around. I just don't want to deal with the bugs and eggs, especially if this grain is going to be sitting around longer. No thanks.

 

[BuffaloSabresBrewer]

I probably would have pitched it also. I take the loss on a pound or two of grain.