Barley Seed

[Lee Kel]

Hello everyone,

I bought 1800 pounds of barley seed from a farmer in PA last summer. I use this seed for growing fodder to feed sheep. I would like to use some of this seed for our own consumption. For brewing, or flour, or Sprouts, whatever. This is untreated seed - not organic. Does anything see any issue with washing the seed well and using it for our own consumption? I have kept this seed in my garage and some of it in the basement.

When soaking the seed for 24 hours, would it be best to add some: bleach? Hydrogen Peroxide? Vinegar? to kill any spores.

 

[camonick]

@bracconiere is the guy to help you

 

[grampamark]

I wouldn’t soak it unless you were planning to make malt. In fact, I wouldn’t do anything to it except keep it dry and free of insects and vermin.

But, I’m just a grain farmer, so what do I know.

 

[bracconiere]

i'd wonder how much damn near a ton of barley cost you....i'd love that much, i go through 100 pounds a month...


i personally haven't had a problem with animal feed barley making beer, i could post my classic pictorial on the process of malting i do...

(yeah getting it wet unless sprouting it, would lead to aflatoxin, or fusarium...)

 

[grampamark]

i'd wonder how much damn near a ton of barley cost you....i'd love that much, i go through 100 pounds a month...


i personally haven't had a problem with animal feed barley making beer, i could post my classic pictorial on the process of malting i do...

(yeah getting it wet unless sprouting it, would lead to aflatoxin, or fusarium...)

Around here, a ton of feed barley would cost $80. Four bucks a hundredweight. Hell, malt barley is only $8.50/hundred. That’s why I haven’t grown barley for the last few years. At the farm gate price it ain’t worth the effort. I’m not in to recreational farming.

 

[bracconiere]

Around here, a ton of feed barley would cost $80. Four bucks a hundredweight. Hell, malt barley is only $8.50/hundred. That’s why I haven’t grown barley for the last few years. At the farm gate price it ain’t worth the effort. I’m not in to recreational farming.

and here i thought only china nick-nacks were slave labor.....i thought it was cheap spending $500 a year on a case a day habit....at $80 a ton, it'd be like, well, free...

and as far as recreational farming, i wouldn't either, unless for personal use...but i only live on a half acre lot.....

 

[bracconiere]

here's my last show of how i malt grain...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/making-good-beer-from-n-a-beers.670305/#post-8716828

post #16....

 

[RM-MN]

Barley needs to be malted to be able to convert the starch to sugar so the yeast can work on it. Malted barley that you buy (or make yourself) will have excess enzymes, more than what is needed for conversion so you can do a mix of malt and raw barley to cut your beer costs. I'd suggest researching the "degrees Lintner" of your malted barley and how much is needed for full conversion. Then I'd try a batch with 1/4 unmalted barley to see how it affects your beer. If you like the results, use more unmalted barley in the next. I wouldn't go to more than 1/2 though.

 

[Lee Kel]

Interesting comments. I paid about $150 for, actually, 1950 pounds of barley (i mentioned 1800 because that's what was in the super-sack on the back of my trailer. I had another 150 in the car). Either way, it was not expensive. I normally wouldn't drive from NY to PA to pick up barley but the NY barley crop was not good this year. So, 6 hours there 12 back because of slow driving. Oh well.

We are soaking the seeds first because my wife wants to grind sprouted barley. This seed is great for making fodder for sheep and chickens. I use barley, oat, or wheat for this. Though I prefer barley.

We initially never considered using this seed for our own consumption and are just being cautious. Any insight on health concerns would be appreciated.

 

[Lee Kel]

Interesting comments. I paid about $150 for, actually, 1950 pounds of barley (i mentioned 1800 because that's what was in the super-sack on the back of my trailer. I had another 150 in the car). Either way, it was not expensive. I normally wouldn't drive from NY to PA to pick up barley but the NY barley crop was not good this year. So, 6 hours there 12 back because of slow driving. Oh well.

We are soaking the seeds first because my wife wants to grind sprouted barley. This seed is great for making fodder for sheep and chickens. I use barley, oat, or wheat for this. Though I prefer barley.

We initially never considered using this seed for our own consumption and are just being cautious. Any insight on health concerns would be appreciated.

 

[bracconiere]

We are soaking the seeds first because my wife wants to grind sprouted barley.

i do that all the time to make a sorta tea out of it....the trick is, you need to soak the barley sprouts at 150f, for about an hour then strain and boil with hops....

 

[bracconiere]

I paid about $150 for, actually, 1950 pounds of barley

damn, i was bored and did the math....i could brew a 33 cent 8% twelver, if i could get barley that cheap!

 

[RM-MN]

We initially never considered using this seed for our own consumption and are just being cautious. Any insight on health concerns would be appreciated.

The answer is, "it depends". It depends on how the grain was treated before it was harvested. In some areas the whole field is sprayed with a desiccating chemical so it all dries evenly making it much easier to harvest. Other areas just harvest without the chemical. I have no idea if the chemical is hazardous. As the farmer you got the grain from.