Old Grains

[Jhedrick83]

I haven’t brewed in essentially two years. I’m going to have time in the coming months and just went to check on my grains, which haven’t even been a thought since I brewed last. I store them all in the Vittles Vaults gamma lid dog food containers but they are all in the garage which has temps ranging from 80-40 based on the season. Some are still sealed in the bags they were shipped in (small amounts like 1 lb of Debittered black malt that ere shipped sealed) and some are simply bagged (like 10 lbs of Belgian pils) and tied off as best as possible. I know they will “probably make beer” but as long as it’s been, since I brewed, I don’t want to dust everything off clean and brew just to have meh as the product and I like making Belgians which I usually rest for a bit before I drink. So I’d really hate to find out 6-12 months later that I wasted my time. For additional info the soft Candi I had in the Vittles Vaults have all turned into hard bricks. I’m not opposed to buying fresh and replacing as I go but I don’t want to be unnecessarily wasteful either.So, what say you on the usability of the grains?

Side note, I have some unopened Candi syrups I’ve been storing in the house for the same timeframe. They are still as pliable as they were when I bought them. I assume they’re fine, but there’s no expiration date on them.

Ps. When the hell did yeast get so expensive? Just saw the price for some White Labs WLP530.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

I have grains older than yours by at least double that still make great beer. Aromatic, chocolate, special B, and carawhatever to name a few. My base grains never make it that old so I cannot attest to them aging.

I don't know anything about the shelf life and viability of the rest of your stock, but If there's no mold, bugs, or poltergeists, I'd say they're safe to use.

Yeast prices is are dumb. I try to reuse as much as possible to exponentially slash the price.

 

[OleBrewing]

humidity would be biggest concern for storage. the adage always is chew on some if they taste fine good to go.

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, I had just bought 320 pounds of base malt in 2021 when I had to take almost two years off of brewing due to a spine injury, subsequent surgery and recovery, before the surgeon signed off this January. Since then I've brewed over 100 gallons using those base malts, and at least some of the specialty malts were even older by months at least, but the beers did not lack for familiar levels of character.

Can't speak to stuff like candi sugar...

Cheers!

 

[ba-brewer]

I know I have had some grain that was a couple years old that made good beer.
If you are worried maybe taste some raw to see if it seems OK or you could do a mini mash with the pilsner malt to see if it still converts.

 

[Jhedrick83]

Nothing tastes off. Curious if the now hard —soft sugar should be replaced. Not sure how it would be different from the hard Candi sugar you can buy that comes rock style. However, maybe someone more experienced can enlighten me.

 

[OleBrewing]

Nothing tastes off. Curious if the now hard —soft sugar should be replaced. Not sure how it would be different from the hard Candi sugar you can buy that comes rock style. However, maybe someone more experienced can enlighten me.

wouldn't worry about the sugar either. picked up some moisture to soften it. even at those conditions that high concentrated sugar is not an environment for any thing other than flies and other insects.

 

[MaxStout]

Sealed in containers at 40-80F for 2 years isn't terribly harsh, unless it was in direct sunlight or high humidity all that time.

Check for mold, bugs, etc., taste some kernels. Betcha it'll be fine.

Go forth and brew some beer!

 

[Agent]

I just got a sack of Red-X, and noticed it said best if used within 24 months from manufacture. So I'd say that a little age when properly stored (like in sealed Vittles Vaults) isn't going to be an issue.

 

[PCABrewing]

For additional info the soft Candi I had in the Vittles Vaults have all turned into hard bricks. I’m not opposed to buying fresh and replacing as I go but I don’t want to be unnecessarily wasteful either.So, what say you on the usability of the grains?

I'd guess that the grain stored with the sugar dessicated it like rice does for a cell phone. Probably no harm to either.
As others have said, if it smells and tastes fine and no critters I'd use it.
I have some in storage now that are easily that old and I intend to use some this month.

 

[hotbeer]

Taste it and smell it. Malts, grains, sugars and anything else. If it tastes off then don't use it. Or go ahead and make a small batch with it and see what if the final product is good'nuff for you.

 

[MicroMickey]

I once used a 10 lb. tub of Pilsner malt which sat around in a sealed tub for 10 years. It seemed okay so I crushed it and made a batch of beer from it. All was well. As previously commented, if it smells and tastes okay and isn't full of critters, it's okay.

 

[Yesfan]

Pretty much what everyone else said, but I'll add.....

Going forward, start labeling/dating all your inventory. That way you got an idea of what's what and its age. This will help you keep the older ingredients rotated to keep fresher ingredients in stock.

 

[Jhedrick83]

So, I brewed a Belgian abbey ale with it that’s supposed to be pretty light. Like 3.4 SRM based on Beersmith. It looked right going into the fermenter and according to the Tilt, it fermented the way I expected based on past brews of this recipe. I just pulled it out of the chamber to bottle and it’s way darker than expected and than it was when it went in. Brand new Fermonster, temp controlled fermentation. Any thoughts on what happened? I’m going to take a sample to taste once it settles from movement and see how it tastes before I bother bottling.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

it’s way darker than expected

Were you observing the color in a serving glass? or in the fermenter?

 

[Jhedrick83]

That’s in the fermenter but I don’t recall it ever being that dark before. Here’s a small sample in a clear plastic cup on a plain white envelope.

Tastes ok.

 

[odie]

whole grain stored in sealed containers? I wouldn't give it a second thought.