How do you Store Your Grains?

[ultravista]

I have two batches of un-milled grains packaged for a future batch, about 15 pounds bagged. I won't be using these for several months, possibly 6 or more.

Is there any value in storing the bags in the freezer?

What is the best storage method?

 

[chuckcomm]

How about a 5 gallon bucket with lid? That should keep them nice and fresh.

 

[KennyM]

+1 for buckets. Also Gamma lids and purge with CO2.

 

[AlCophile]

Treat grains as you would any foodstuff; they are composed of complex organic molecules and can be degraded by many conditions, such as:
oxygen(air), heat, moisture, extremes of pH, light(especially UV), exposure to any critters from fungus to rodents, being finely-divided(milled), radiation(rare), time. Probably others.
I buy mine in amounts which I plan to use soon. They are stored in whatever container they come closest to filling, eg., PET bottles, poly bags, whatever. Then, I flush them with CO2, bought in bulk(eg. 20# cyl.) like this:
WARNING: use CO2 at your own risk; 10% CO2 will cause humans to become unconscious-you have been warned.
Run a poly tube to the bottom of the container(using PET soda bottles allows bottles to collapse a bit-see below), loosely seal the opening, invert the container, slowly flush w/ CO2. This minimizes cavitation.
When done, seal bottle, store in fridge. If sealed, bottle will collapse, not a problem.

 

[DrinksWellWithOthers]

I store my bulk grains in 5 gallon buckets and everything else in these clear containers meant for food storage that snap shut and have a rubber gasket that makes a nice air tight seal. They come in different sizes that hold anywhere between 3 - 20 lbs.

 

[ultravista]

Is there a benefit to storing grains in the freezer?

 

[kh54s10]

In the freezer is good if totally sealed, otherwise they could absorb moisture. I store my bulk grains in 5 gallon buckets with Gamma lids. Smaller amounts are in lock and lock type storage containers (sealed lid). I have used some grains well over a year old with good results.

Cool and dry. Most important is DRY.

 

[unionrdr]

I buy a lot of Maillard malts, coming repackaged in ziploc bags. I keep them in a dunage container on the bottom shelf of my wire rack with the lid halves snapped shut. They last a long time high & dry. What light gets to them doesn't seem to be a problem so far. But they are uncrushed as well.

 

[ultravista]

I am in Las Vegas, we invented dry/arid.

 

[Singletrack]

Closed plastic bags inside a plastic garbage can, stored in a cool dry place.

 

[MollyHatchet]

I keep my grains in plastic bags, usually in coolers in my garage / brew house attached to the house. This area, for what ever it's worth is kept at 50 degrees during the winter and the only temp control during the summer is when he garage door is closed, (garage / brewery is under the master bedroom) on the north side of the house so the central air being on keeps it pretty cool.

 

[David_Trucks]

I buy used icing buckets from the grocery store bakery for $2 a pop. They seal good enough. I buy some grains in bulk and just dump them in the buckets.

 

[OleBrewing]

I bought a couple 35 gallon plastic barrel with a metal snap ring from the surplus section at macs hardware for something like 15 bucks each. Washed them out, they used to hold naproxin sodium which I think is what aleve is? Keep them in the cellar.

Maltsters store there malt in silos that are vent regulated with blowers.

 

[jsprinceiii]

6 Gallon Bucket w/Gamma Lid, purge w/CO2
Buckets from Sams club:
http://www.samsclub.com/sams/augason....ip?navAction=

 

[Cyclman]

To my understanding, the real enemy of malt is moisture, within reasonable temperature parameters (cooler being better). I store mine in the basement in a Vittles Vault. Works great, never had any sense of staling, highly durable.

Bags of grain are not airtight or even sealed, so while I can't see any harm in purging with CO2, that is certainly not done commercially, as it is with hops.

 

[Brew_G]

In the freezer is good if totally sealed, otherwise they could absorb moisture. I store my bulk grains in 5 gallon buckets with Gamma lids. Smaller amounts are in lock and lock type storage containers (sealed lid). I have used some grains well over a year old with good results.

Cool and dry. Most important is DRY.

I use five-gallon buckets with gamma lids for my bulk base malts, as well. They're in my cool, though perhaps not completely arid, basement. I don't flush with CO2 or anything and I recently finished up a sack of MO that if had for about ten months. No issues at all with that grain. All my other grains are stored in Ziploc bags that are in one of those big Rubbermaid-type containers.

 

[CGVT]

I use Homer buckets for my base malts and ice cream tubs for my specialty grains. Some I re-vacuum seal in the bags, some I don't. I keep them in my garage where it gets to be 100 degrees in the summer.

I've had some for over a year. They keep fine and taste fresh.

 

[Sparge]

I store mine in the basement in a Vittles Vault. Works great, never had any sense of staling, highly durable.

X2, these are great. You can stack them and put them in a corner out of the way. I have four and am thinking of ordering four more.

 

[dpatrickv]

I use 5 gallon homer buckets.

 

[eric19312]

Base malts are in. 5 gallon homer buckets with gamma seal lids. No CO2 flush. Garage temps range from about 50-80F during course of the year. I like how they stack.

 

[Brew_G]

Homer buckets aren't food-grade, and that may or may not matter to some folks. For me, I bought food-grade buckets from Wal-Mart and put the gamma kids of those.

 

[xcdarrel17]

Repurposed old bucket fermenters with gamma lids works great for me. Larger size than homer buckets and food grade.

 

[BorderBrewer]

I store base malt in spare pin-lock cornies under CO2 pressure. Specialty malts spend a week in the freezer before storing them in gamma screw top buckets. No weevil issues, ever.

 

[ebstauffer]

Homer buckets w/ gamma lids. I've heard multiple times the "food grade-ness" often has to do with mold release agent. I give me buckets a good scrub and they're good to go. Haven't died yet.

 

[cilestiok]

I also use homer buckets.They're hdpe and that's food grade enough for me. Especially when you consider the malt went from an open field to a barely sanitary silo and then to its final home in carelessly mistreated burlap sacks.

 

[unionrdr]

I used my homer cheapo bucket with my grain mill. But this was after a lot of PBW & Starsan went through it delabeling bottles, sanitizing things, etc. I now use one of the blue Lowe's buckets with the grain mill. Still here, so they're ok.

 

[Beer-lord]

I use Vittle Vaults. Not cheap but they will last a lifetime and keep my grains fresh.
My specialty malts are kept in bags inside the Vittle Vault and my base malts are loose.

 

[Doed]

Another Vittle Vault user here. I have two of the big tubs that will hold 50lb sacks of grain. The small quantity stuff is usually sealed in vacuum bags.

 

[WestCoastBrew]

How about a 5 gallon bucket with lid? That should keep them nice and fresh.

That is how I do it.

 

[CGVT]

Homer buckets aren't food-grade, and that may or may not matter to some folks. For me, I bought food-grade buckets from Wal-Mart and put the gamma kids of those.

Uh...yes they are.

Carry on

 

[iijakii]

Does HD sell the gamma lids? How much are they in-store generally? Looks like they're twice the price of the bucket online! Can get nice dog food containers for the same combined price.

 

[CGVT]

Why bother with the gamma lids. The grains store and keep fine with the snap on lids.

 

[cilestiok]

Why bother with the gamma lids. The grains store and keep fine with the snap on lids.

Agreed.

 

[muels]

Vacuum seal all but base grains. They go in old fermenter buckets with a regular lid. Vacuum bags go in homer buckets for tidier storage.

 

[kh54s10]

Gamma lids have a seal in both parts that will keep humidity from spoiling your malts. Snap on lid work fine but are a ROYAL PITA to get on and off the bucket.. Also the more you use it the less likely you will get a good seal.

With Homer buckets or any other colored buckets, the plastic alone is OK. The coloring might not be OK. For storage of grains, IMO the problem is minimal.....

 

[ebstauffer]

Does HD sell the gamma lids? How much are they in-store generally?/QUOTE]

They're at least double! I can't image branded buckets are anything but loss leaders at both HD and Lowes. IIRC, the gamma lids at HD are about $7. Black only.

 

[Brew_G]

Uh...yes they are.

Carry on

Even if I'm wrong, then what's the point is saying "Uhhh..." as if I'm some sort of f'ing moron.

Kind of a *****ey thing to do.

 

[Brew_G]

Gamma lids have a seal in both parts that will keep humidity from spoiling your malts. Snap on lid work fine but are a ROYAL PITA to get on and off the bucket.. Also the more you use it the less likely you will get a good seal.

With Homer buckets or any other colored buckets, the plastic alone is OK. The coloring might not be OK. For storage of grains, IMO the problem is minimal.....

Yup. As I said in my post, for some people that doesn't matter. For me, it was simple enough to find a bucket that I know is food-grade, so I got those instead.

 

[Brew_G]

Maybe a simple search to back up my food-grade post would have helped.

Again, if this doesn't matter to you, then feel free to ignore it.

From http://www.homedepot.com/p/The-Home-Depot-5-gal-Homer-Bucket-05GLHD2/100087613 (my bold):

PRODUCT OVERVIEW
Model # 05GLHD2
Internet # 100087613
Store SKU # 131227

Use the 5-gal. Orange Homer Bucket to haul parts, paint, topsoil and other household and work-site items. This orange, plastic bucket holds up to a 9 in. bucket grid and features the orange Home Depot logo on its side.

Use for mixing paint, hauling topsoil, storing parts and for other purposes
Ideal for use as a utility pail on work sites
Holds up to a 9 in. bucket grid
Plastic construction for durability
Orange color with the Home Depot logo
Buckets are not food grade
Note: product may vary by store

Carry on

 

[kombat]

I use these buckets and the matching Gamma Seal lids for my base grains (2-row, Pilsner, Maris Otter, and Munich) and more commonly-used specialty malts (Carafoam, Carared, Caraaroma, Roasted, Vienna). All other specialty grains I buy by the pound, and unused portions get vacuum sealed in Foodsaver pouches, and stored in a bin on a shelf at room temperature. Seems to work fine for me, although the buckets and lids represented a bit of an up-front investment.

The buckets are HDPE, which is widely regarded as "the best type of plastic for use in long-term food storage".