Do I understand this bulk grain thing correctly?

[Spivey24]

Those vittle vaults are great for full bags, but can take a lot of space when you have several half bags. I use the Lowe’s white food grade buckets which are pretty cheap. They are a bit more versatile for me for storage and I can dump them and weigh out and grind back into them easily. Depends on your storage space. Anything extra goes in 2 gallon zip locks which can hold 11 lbs.

I usually get 55lb / 25Kg bags of pils, marris otter, and Vienna. The Vienna lasts longer but I like it in a lot of recipes rather than darker malts.

For the grinder I have the Monster 3 roller which I love. It’s a beast. So much better than the 2 roller I had that I had to do a double pass on and would always get stuck. I hook it up to my Dewalt 20v drill and it tears through grain and is nice and portable.

 

[Spivey24]

And one other thing, the best thing about having bulk grain is I can brew when I get a chance and don’t have to run to the LHBS each time. Just keep some yeast and hops around and I can crush and go anytime. Improvise a recipe for whatever I have on hand.

 

[Chuckbergman]

Check with your local grocery store that has a bakery, or a local bakery/donut shop. They get many of their ingredients in white food-safe buckets with lids that hold about 20# of grain. They often give them away or charge a minimal fee.

 

[Golddiggie]

I'm using a combination of 13 gallon (IIRC) blue barrels (locking lids with o-rings that I bought several years back) and 6 gallon Vittles Vaults for the sacks of grain I've purchased. Last week I received four sacks of Crisp No. 19 Maris Otter grain. Each of the blue barrels easily holds a sack. Two of the 6 gallon VV's can hold a 55# sack with a bit of room to spare. I have a total of four of the blue barrels, but one is holding sealed (vacuum sealed) backs of specialty grains. I also have a couple of large totes with more vacuum packed bags of grains (different weights, broken down into increments I typically use).

With the buckets and barrels I've never had any issue with things getting into the grains. Even with the totes, since I also vacuum pack the grains. I do have the last of the first sack I bought (a couple of months back) of MO in additional sealed containers.

I'd advise not getting more grain than you expect to use in the coming 6-12 months. Mill/crush on brew day and you'll not have any issues.

I'm looking into getting some 3.5 gallon buckets (white, food grade) to hold some of the grains I buy more of at a time (typically getting 10# at a shot). I have four Gamma lids waiting for buckets to go onto. I had planned to use those on 6 gallon buckets, but the VV's were a good rate (on Amazon) and made enough sense to go with.

 

[Elric]

You can always check with your lhbs or brewing club to see if they ever do bulk buys on grains. We have ones organized here, usually one in the spring and one in the fall. No shipping charges and the prices are usually a good 30-40% off the regular full bag price. Just have to be able to pickup in a specific time window.

 

[DavidWood2115]

I also buy my base grains in bulk but haven't tried specialty grains - for those of you who do, how long have you stored speciality grains and have you noticed and degradation after a period of time? (What timeframe if that's the case?

Thanks,
E.

It is somewhat counterintuitive (To me at least), but according to Briess’s product detail pages many specialty malts last longer (e.g., slight flavor degradation after 18 months) than base malts (best by 6 months). Apparently the diastatic enzymes degrade faster than the flavors oxidize.

 

[Deadalus]

I like to advance scout the LHBS in the areas I travel to and will pick up the big sacks if they are available. Always a pleasure to wander around the store too.

 

[Golddiggie]

You can always check with your lhbs or brewing club to see if they ever do bulk buys on grains. We have ones organized here, usually one in the spring and one in the fall. No shipping charges and the prices are usually a good 30-40% off the regular full bag price. Just have to be able to pickup in a specific time window.

IME, it depends on the grain and the LHBS you visit. The LHBS I use sells full sacks of Crisp No. 19 for $70 (~$1.27 a pound). End cost for the group buy was $1/#. Not a huge difference, but enough when you get enough sacks at a time.

 

[tennesseean_87]

Haven't read all the replies but looking at your list , just add the wheat in bulk as well. Man if you plan on brewing wheat beers you're going to need bulk wheat. And I haven't met many recipes that couldn't use a little wheat also when I had my homebrew store we used the vittle vault that you could get from Costco. We had roughly 80 of them in our Grain room at one time or another. They work absolutely fantastic and will hold a 55 lb bag of grain with no problem.

Good luck with it! Have fun having a boatload of grain on hand. I see a few 2AM brew sessions in your future

Cheers
Jay

Yeah, I like throwing wheat in stuff, too. IPAs, Hazy IPAs, Saison, and then of course wheat beers.

You can always check with your lhbs or brewing club to see if they ever do bulk buys on grains. We have ones organized here, usually one in the spring and one in the fall. No shipping charges and the prices are usually a good 30-40% off the regular full bag price. Just have to be able to pickup in a specific time window.

Is your club buying direct from a distributor? I'd love to save more than what I can get at the LHBS on base malts.

 

[porterguy]

A lot of cities have organized group buys. Not sure a list exists, but a lot of them you can find on this site by searching "Chicago Group Buy" for example. They can really save you a lot of money, and you may very well be able to split bags with other people of grains when you don't need a full bag.

 

[Wables]

I am now buying all of my grains at my LHBS. I have bought online before, but LHBS's need the business and I no longer pinch pennies. I usually buy my yeast there, too. Hops I order in bulk online because while I'm not cheap, I'm not stupid enough to pay $3 per oz. My LHBS carries Briess 2-row for $50/sack. I'm not sure what the price on Simpson's Golden Promise is, but one of the employees gives it to me at the same price as Briess because she doesn't know the difference. They will order me MO or anything else that I want with a week notice and Thursday delivery. I usually burn through 50# of base malt on a brew day, so I haven't had the need to get too advanced in storage. I just swing by the store a few days before brew day and buy what I need. If they are missing an ingredient I improvise with what they have and roll with it. I am switching to inside brew days with 5 or 10 gallon batches so I'm interested in all of these ideas!

 

[WNGU]

Just wondering, I see that many here recommended getting Pilsner, Pale Ale and Marris otter as base malts in bulk. Is there a major difference between M.O. and Pale ale? I am really limited on space where I am. If I will only get one, which one would make more sense to get?

Thanks

 

[Wayne1]

Will you want to brew American IPA or English bitters? Go with the Pale ale. As your tastes change, tray a bag a Maris Otter. The English grain is fuller in body.

 

[Toxxyc]

I buy pilsner malt in bulk, as most my beers I like have it as a base. If I'm "active" I even let the store mill it for me, directly into my own 25l HDPE2 buckets.

Specialties I buy in smaller amounts, depending on the type. Malts I use often like Dextrin I buy in 5kg bags, and stuff like roasted barley in 1kg bags. Specialties are always unmilled.

 

[WNGU]

Will you want to brew American IPA or English bitters? Go with the Pale ale. As your tastes change, tray a bag a Maris Otter. The English grain is fuller in body.

I currently have a Red ale, American Amber and Porter in the plans but I do brew American IPA's fairly often.

I am asking because I see a lot of recipes here that call for Marris Otter and that using pale ale won't be the same but I never saw anywhere not to use Marris otter instead of pale ale.

I am new to all grain brewing so I am just asking, if I am looking for a lighter crisp beer, wouldn't I want to use Pilsner?

Thanks

 

[Golddiggie]

Just wondering, I see that many here recommended getting Pilsner, Pale Ale and Marris otter as base malts in bulk. Is there a major difference between M.O. and Pale ale? I am really limited on space where I am. If I will only get one, which one would make more sense to get?

Thanks

Maris Otter has a different flavor contribution than regular 2 row malt. I brew a SMaSH with Maris Otter and it's always a crowd pleaser. I was getting Golden Promise as well, but have switched recipes over to just use MO. Makes it easier keeping just one base malt in stock. I have some GP left that will be used up within the next two recipes (one this weekend).

Gimme some MO!!!

 

[sicktght311]

My usual rule of thumb is the following

Stout, or anything that needs a toasty bready character = Maris Otter
Standard IPAs, American Ales, Lagers = 2 Row
NEIPAs, Ultra Light lagers and ales = Pilsner/Pilsen

Most of my recipes other than NEIPAs use 2 row. I'll use Maris Otter on some stout recipes, but others i use 2 row, and get more of the toasty/bready flavor from specialty additions like Biscuit Malt or Victory Malt

 

[Golddiggie]

The pale ales I'm brewing benefit from the flavors from Maris Otter. One I also add victory malt to (20% of the grist) to get a more dominant 'biscuit' flavor profile. As I mentioned, for me, going to a single base malt makes things easier. No more worrying that I'm not going to have enough for the coming recipe.

 

[porterguy]

I use MO for anything I make calling for 2-row (storage space issue, plus I really like English styles and MO in general). I also store Pilsen (for Belgian styles) and wheat in bulk.

 

[Tim K]

I just got 125 lbs of grains yesterday, 2 row, pilsener, wheat and Munich. I store it in buckets and vittle vaults in my fermentation chamber. I've heard if you put hand warmers in the sealed buckets it sucks all of the O2 out and suffocates the critters.

 

[IslandLizard]

I just got 125 lbs of grains yesterday, 2 row, pilsener, wheat and Munich. I store it in buckets and vittle vaults in my fermentation chamber. I've heard if you put hand warmers in the sealed buckets it sucks all of the O2 out and suffocates the critters.

I would be very concerned about the humidity in that freezer. Please store those grains dry, or if you need to, deep frozen.

Deep freezing definitely kills the critters, their larvae, and probably their eggs too.

 

[porterguy]

Never heard that, but I've never had a critter problem, so haven't searched for solutions. I just use food grade 5 gallon buckets with lids. 2 for 50 lb. bags. Two plus Quick make a beer using all the 5 lb. leftovers from European malts (55 lbs. per bag) or find a smaller container for the extra 5 lbs.

 

[Tim K]

I would be very concerned about the humidity in that freezer. Please store those grains dry, or if you need to, deep frozen.

Deep freezing definitely kills the critters, their larvae, and probably their eggs too.

There's a 5000k btu A/C unit in the other end so no humidity and I keep it around 68F. I got the freezer for free and had it working and painted when the compressor quit, not to be deterred I gutted it and mounted a free a/c unit. I can get it down into the low 50 before it starts freezing up.

 

[burtom]

Just wondering, I see that many here recommended getting Pilsner, Pale Ale and Marris otter as base malts in bulk. Is there a major difference between M.O. and Pale ale? I am really limited on space where I am. If I will only get one, which one would make more sense to get?

Thanks

I am going to take a shot at this question because the nomenclature used is confusing as "insert cuss here".
I believe that Maris Otter is a varietal of Pale Ale Malt as is Golden Promise these are used for most English style ales. Pale Malt I believe is equivalent to generic 2 row malt used for most American ales, but many American maltsters label there Pale Malt as Pale Ale Malt. So if someone says they keep Pilsner, Pale Ale Malt and Maris Otter on hand this would translate to "Pilsner Malt", normally used in lagers, Pale Ale Malt, mostly used in English ales and Pale Malt, mostly used in American ales.

If anyone has actual knowledge about this please correct me!

 

[Golddiggie]

I am going to take a shot at this question because the nomenclature used is confusing as "insert cuss here".
I believe that Maris Otter is a varietal of Pale Ale Malt as is Golden Promise these are used for most English style ales. Pale Malt I believe is equivalent to generic 2 row malt used for most American ales, but many American maltsters label there Pale Malt as Pale Ale Malt. So if someone says they keep Pilsner, Pale Ale Malt and Maris Otter on hand this would translate to "Pilsner Malt", normally used in lagers, Pale Ale Malt, mostly used in English ales and Pale Malt, mostly used in American ales.

If anyone has actual knowledge about this please correct me!

Pale ale malt, aka UK 2-row, is NOT the same as Maris Otter malt. Maris Otter is a different variant with a lower crop yield per acre. It offers different flavors than generic UK 2-row malt. Information is easy to locate online as well to pick out the differences.

 

[IslandLizard]

There's a 5000k btu A/C unit in the other end so no humidity and I keep it around 68F. I got the freezer for free and had it working and painted when the compressor quit, not to be deterred I gutted it and mounted a free a/c unit. I can get it down into the low 50 before it starts freezing up.

My upright freezer, used as a kegerator, gets quite a bit of condensate in it, dripping off the kegs during the idle part of the cycles. Indeed, I don't have large puddles on the kegerator's floor, so during the on-cycle much of that moisture must be drawn off, freezing onto the evaporator that gets rid of the ice/water during the defrost cycles. It all seems to work out.

But it's quite damp in there between on-cycles, drips and drops everywhere. If yours is dry, then moisture is not an issue.

 

[bwible]

You are correct about MO coming in 55 lbs bags. Rahr does as well.

The malts that come from overseas (to the US) usually are 55 lbs because they do this silly thing with kilograms instead of pounds like we do.

(edit) 55 lbs just happens to be 25 kg

 

[bwible]

I am going to take a shot at this question because the nomenclature used is confusing as "insert cuss here".
I believe that Maris Otter is a varietal of Pale Ale Malt as is Golden Promise these are used for most English style ales. Pale Malt I believe is equivalent to generic 2 row malt used for most American ales, but many American maltsters label there Pale Malt as Pale Ale Malt. So if someone says they keep Pilsner, Pale Ale Malt and Maris Otter on hand this would translate to "Pilsner Malt", normally used in lagers, Pale Ale Malt, mostly used in English ales and Pale Malt, mostly used in American ales.

If anyone has actual knowledge about this please correct me!

It is confusing.
Start with the generic term “2-row”. That just refers to how the barley plant grows. If it grows with 2 rows of seeds they call it 2 row. If it grows with 6 rows of seeds they call it 6 row.

6 row has a higher diastatic power, meaning it has extra enzymes that can break down a larger percentage of adjuncts that don’t have enzymes, like corn and rice. It used to be used for adjunct beers but I’m not sure how true that is today. Many of the big companies advertise 2 row barley now. 6 row is available, but its a bit of a dinosaur. It would be my first choice for brewing a pre-prohibition lager.

In a sense most barley used for brewing falls under 2 row. Then there are differences by where it is grown. The US, The UK, Germany, Belgium and Canada all grow 2 row barley. From there, its how the malt is processed. Lighter and darker kilning, etc. Crystal malt can even be 2 row.

When trying to reproduce a beer, you can’t go wrong by using the ingredients they use where the beer is brewed. British Bitters = Maris Otter or Golden Promise. For Belgians you can use Belgian Pale malt. Etc.

Same with hops. All different varieties that are all different due to where they grow and how they are bred.

 

[TestTickle]

The malts that come from overseas (to the US) usually are 55 lbs because they do this silly thing with kilograms instead of pounds like we do.

(edit) 55 lbs just happens to be 25 kg

True. I can only assume that Rahr made the move from 50 to 55 to keep things consistent between their U.S. and Canada facilities.

 

[jim_CdY]

I've read each post with a great deal of interest, hopefully my question will fit along the same lines without to much thread drift.

I'm fairly new to home brewing, around 2 years but in excess of 30 brews, I have a Grainfather G30 plus a Blichmann 20 gal. Breweasy, 3 fermenters, blah, blah, blah..... To date I have been buying mostly kits but I'm now ready ~ to start creating my own recipes and grinding my on grains. My question relates to base malts, what are the 6-8 most used base malts? Like many of you I will purchase my speciality malts in smaller sizes than full sacks.

My brews are all ales, especially IPA's, a few Porters and along with a few other odd balls just to try something different. Like Spivey24 posted above I have settled on a 3 roller type mill, the Monster is close to the top on my list, however I'm open to other suggestions.