How long will bulk malt stay good?

[Chris Grubb]

Since I am brewing all grain pretty regularly, I was thinking about getting some base malt in bulk.
For those that do, how long does it stay good, or what time frame do you recommend using it?
What do you keep it in?

 

[logdrum]

I use white 5 gal food safe pails w Gamma Seal lids. While I've kept grains for years w no appreciable "raw taste test" loss, I try to move my base malts within 2 years. I vacuum seal all my specialty malts and hops plus freeze the hops. Specialty malt I will let go 5 years, hops, 2-3, occasionally 4.

 

[imasickboy]

Efficiency and flavor will fade with time, but you'll still make beer.

I suggest a year, but you can go much longer, and you'll still make beer.

 

[FatDragon]

I've definitely gone a year and not felt like there was any drop-off in the malt. With specialty grains, I've vacuum sealed them for as much as four years and felt like they still did just fine.

 

[Dog House Brew]

Years

I’ve brewed many fantastic beers with 3 year old bags of malt. Maybe not as good as new, no idea. Kept in optimal, uncrushed conditions, a long time

 

[VTX1300]

5 gallon food grade buckets with gemma lids also. But years? A 50 pound sack only lasts me a couple of months At the most! I only buy specialty malts as needed so I don't store them more than a week or two.

 

[hawkbox]

Considering how long grain can sit in a grainery or silo before shipping I wouldn't worry to much about it. Once it's milled there's a shelf life but even that is longer than most people really think. I just use rubbermaid totes with a lid for mine, though I generally need to get more grain every 3-4 months.

 

[kh54s10]

I keep my base grains in 5 gallon buckets with Gamma Lids also. I keep specialty grains in lock and lock containers. I haven't noticed any drop on in either. Smoked grains lose a little of the smokey flavor over time though.

 

[wyowolf]

I order ten pound bags from More Beer... unmilled, and they stay sealed until i use them. Any speciality grains i use i reseal them with vac sealer... so far no issues at all... and the 5 and 10 pound bags work out great for me...

 

[grampamark]

I'm a grain farmer and have grown a lot of malting barley over the years. Grain often sits in storage on the farm for months, sometimes more than a year, before being sold. Then, it spends weeks, or months, in storage and transit, before ending up at a processing plant. After processing, it may spend more months in the pipeline before ending up at a distributor or retailer.

The "fresh" malt that you order online, or pick up at the LHBS, could be at least two years old. Maybe closer to three if it came from a farm that didn't have to turn all of its produce into cash right away.

The kilning stage of the malting process removes virtually all of the moisture from the grain. This improves the shelf life, as keeping grain dry is key to preserving quality during storage.

Whole grain, malted or unmalted, will stay in condition for years if kept cool, dry, and free of rodents and insects.