Grain Storage

[Charlieatthedisco]

Hey guys, after a two year stint of not brewing, I am back in the game! That being said I have two home depot buckets worth of grain that I can't help myself to dump in the trash...I am assuming that grain stored in buckets in a cool garage may not last two years...or does it? I don't want to waste time brewing if the grain could be bad.

Thanks in advance

I'm sure this question has been asked over and ovehttp://cdn.homebrewtalk.com/images/smilies/occasion14.gifr

 

[Pie_Man]

Grains can stale over time. I personally don't know how long it takes. It sounds like you stored the grains reasonably well.

You can brew a batch and see what happens

You may also want to buy some fresh grains from your LHBS store and compare the fresh grains to your stored grains.

Either way, welcome back to brewing

 

[fearwig]

Stale is relative to your tastes. I wouldn't personally waste it. You will probably make good beer. Maybe the next beer will be better, but how will you know?

If there are toasted malts in there, I'd up the percentages a bit to get the flavor you want, but otherwise I'd brew as normal.

+1 to storing in buckets, though. Anyone who tried my Mauspoopweizen will vouch for that. (OK, I got most of it out--and the beer was fine--but still, @#$#ing mice.)

 

[Mad4sax]

Taste it. See how it is.

 

[Charlieatthedisco]

Thanks for the replies, should it taste sweet? What would bad grain taste like


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[sweetcell]

to me, this boils down (!) to how you value your time and your beer.

i suspect the grain will be fine to brew with, but it will probably be a little stale and won't be quite as flavorful as fresh malt. so the question becomes: how much are you willing to pay, extra, to ensure that your beer tastes its best? are you ok with a slightly boring beer?

for me, i don't get to brew as often as i want to so i need every batch to be its best. i don't have time to brew another batch just because my last one isn't awesome... i need a homerun every time. so i'm willing to pay extra to make sure my grains are fresh. on the other hand, when i was brewing every other weekend (or it seemed like it), i was spending too much on ingredients. i'd brew with old grains and could deal with (read: give away) less than amazing beers.

if you do decide to brew with those grains, i'd make something that hides the base malts: IPA (hops should hide everything), a stout (dark roast grains should help cover the base malts), etc. i'd stay away from styles such as english pale ales that highlight the basic malt flavors.

 

[fearwig]

There are about a hundred things that will impact the quality of your beer more than 2yo grains, especially if they were stored well. A lot of the "only the best" mentality is about pride, not beer. Have fun, make more beer.

 

[AnOldUR]

. . . should it taste sweet? What would bad grain taste like?

Not sweet. More like unsweetened whole grain cereal. Go to your LHBS and pick up some of the same grain and compare the taste. Stale is stale. You'll know.

 

[masonsjax]

Eat some, if it tastes stale or musty, use it to make wort for yeast starters.

 

[Charlieatthedisco]

Alright then, I think I have decided just to go for it and brew a batch and see what happens. Hops yeast and time would be my loss if it goes wrong but who knows


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[cjgenever]

Those buckets are gasketted. That good. The real question is were they kept at a relatively stable, cool temp. Two years is a long time. I'd mix it half with fresh grain and use it in recipes with a lot of specialty dark grains. RIS anyone?

Sent from my SCH-R970 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[jrgtr42]

Those buckets are gasketted. That good. The real question is were they kept at a relatively stable, cool temp. Two years is a long time. I'd mix it half with fresh grain and use it in recipes with a lot of specialty dark grains. RIS anyone?

Sent from my SCH-R970 using Home Brew mobile app

That's exactly what I was thinking - use the old stuff as base malt where you're using a lot of specialty ones - roasted, smoked etc, where that maltiness will be covered up. If making a pale ale, something that the malt shines through, go fresh.

 

[Puddlethumper]

eat some, if it tastes stale or musty, use it to make wort for yeast starters.

+1 ^^^^^^

 

[lotusworker]

Yeah, do a 1 gallon brew to see how it goes.

 

[Setesh]

Also, stale grain can get soft from moisture to the point that it doesn't crush correctly when you run it through a mill. Instead of cracking like normal grain it gets squished. It will still make beer, but if it has lost it's crispness that is another sign it is past its prime. As a general rule the more moisture content something has the faster it will stale. LME stales faster than DME for the same reason.

 

[cjgenever]

that's the great thing about gas getting buckets. there is very little moisture infiltration. as long as the grain was dry when it went into storage it should be okay, just a bit stale.

edit: gasketed buckets
Sent from my SCH-R970 using Home Brew mobile app