Best before date for malts?

[OkanaganMike]

My LHBS has a sale on 55# bags Gambrinus Pale ad ESB malts. Being new to home brewing, I've fallen in love with it and want to commit further by buying a barley crusher and a bag of malt. Aside from possible better buying power by the vendor, I'm concerned these may be on sale due them being older and the he wants to turn them over. I've seen a youtube video where the guy had a couple of buggered up batches and figured it was due to his crush grains being old and not converting well. Wonder if this can happen on full uncrushed malted grain? Sholud I be looking for a BB date?

 

[gundarak]

When I was new to AG brewing, I let myself get a few under my belt before taking advantage of my brewclub's grain buy. Our club gets 55# bags from a local brewpub.. and theres no concern of the quality of the grain.. they just bought too much and would rather see it get used than go to waste..

So, I bought this 55# bag of 2-row pale ale malt, thinking on average you use 8-12lbs per recipe, so it wouldnt last long. Its been over a year and I still have 1/4 of the bag left, and do a search in All Grain brewing for my discussion about low efficiency.

My point, dont get the 55# bag unless you tend to use it all in a 1 year or less period, or have exceptional air tight moist free storage environments. My last 5 brews have suffered.. coming in at 1-2% abv lower than estimated. My efficiency has gone from 70%ish to about 60% now..

It will be the last time i personally will buy a bag that big.. i'll build my recipes in advance and buy just enough for that batch going forward.

 

[RM-MN]

I got two 55 pound bags and it took me over 2 years to use them all up. No special storage, fold the top of the bag over when I'm done weighing out the grains is all. My efficiency never changed over the 2 years. YMMV but I'd buy a bag and not worry.

 

[giraffe]

Crushed malt goes stale quickly. Ive had no issue with uncrushed malt, I store it in a metal trashcan in the garage. But I brew alot, so I havent had a bag last more than 3 months. I buy specialty grains from my LHBS, and they have no problem bringing in my sack of base malt and using their grinder.

Smoked malt is a another matter. That seems to lose its smokiness with age, and id be concerned with the age of the sack.

 

[sandyeggoxj]

Several maltsers will stamp a best buy date on the bag. I see that on my 25kg bags.

 

[OkanaganMike]

Thanks guys! This is a lot of good info.

@ Gundurak - I guess I have a bit of math work to do. I haven't looked at your link yet but sure will. Sounds like I may have been onto something with my thoughts on efficiency. As far as moisture goes, I live in a pretty dry semi desert area of Canada ( I know that may sound odd for many of you ) but we do get all 4 seasons and didn't think about moisture issues either. If I keep it in a sealed container such as girraffe's garbage can, it should help I think.

@ Giraffe - I have a feeling I too will be brewing a lot. I've gathered 8-10 recipes that interest me and seems the pale malt is a common denominator. That said, I like trying different styles that means different base malts(ESB etc) that may throw a wrench in the works.

 

[nanogi]

I stored a bag of malt for 14 months and no efficiency loss, you can alternatively put it in a closed container and fill it with CO2, which prevents the malt from spoiling

 

[SPR-GRN]

Producers typically have a suggested shelf life for grain if stored properly. I personally draft out my brewing year before ordering grain, then I purchase enough to make it through the year via group buys. I have food grade air tight containers and store grain in my basement (dry, cool, pest free environment). So basically I plan on having grain for about a year, I haven't noticed any efficiency issues or had any go bad. I also mill right before I brew. YMMV

from Briess website:
http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/blog/about/

and

http://www.brewingwithbriess.com/Orderinfo/Handling_Storing_Dry_Malt.htm

good luck!

 

[didinho]

I used a 25kg pale malt for 15 months with no efficiency loss: in particular, I brewed the same beer at 13 months distance: same recipe, same quantity, same bag of malt, same efficience.