pre-crushed grain question

[ElevenBrewCo]

Since i am low on money and cant afford a crusher and will be brewing a lot of beers with a lot of 2 row rahr. Is it bad to have crushed grains laying around in a bag for weeks or even months? I didnt know if it lost flavor or moister would be lost or something....Im thinking about buying a 50 lb bag pre crushed but dont want to screw myself and have it go "bad"

thanks!

 

[Warped04]

Yes...It's bad.

 

[mattd2]

Yes...It's bad.

How bad?
People have advised on here before to buy 2/3 ingredient kits (crushed) to take advantage of the free/flat rate shipping. And they suggested that 1-2 months shouldn't be a problem. Although thats a lot of brewing to get through 50 lbs in a couple of months (unless your doing 10G+ high gravity brews)!
Anothing thing is I always see a lot of flour at the bottom of the bag of crushed grains, and I wonder when I use half the bag if I am actually not getting the same ratio of flour/husks as I would if I had of bought a 2 smaller bags and used one whole bag.

 

[redblacktree]

My local brew shop recommended that I buy bulk grain uncrushed. They told me that I could bring my grain in and they would crush it for me. You might ask your LHBS if they're OK with a similar arrangement. Of course, I'm sure this would depend on you buying the grain from your LHBS to begin with. So it may not be something you're interested in.

 

[indigi]

You might be able to just pay your LHBS a quarter a pound to crush it for you if you can get a sack or two in a group buy. If you regularly shop there it shouldn't be a problem.

Personally I've had crushed grains sitting around for a month before I could brew with them and it was fine. Keep it in as airtight a container as you can and pop it in the fridge. I hijacked the low-humidity storage drawer to keep mine in. Heat and moisture are the two things that'll cause it to stale.

 

[Warped04]

How bad?
People have advised on here before to buy 2/3 ingredient kits (crushed) to take advantage of the free/flat rate shipping. And they suggested that 1-2 months shouldn't be a problem. Although thats a lot of brewing to get through 50 lbs in a couple of months (unless your doing 10G+ high gravity brews)!
Anothing thing is I always see a lot of flour at the bottom of the bag of crushed grains, and I wonder when I use half the bag if I am actually not getting the same ratio of flour/husks as I would if I had of bought a 2 smaller bags and used one whole bag.

No matter how I respond I'll probably get flamed, or start some stupid debate, so I'll keep it brief (and edited). People say lots of things, and you don't truly know how good or not good something is until you taste it (ie the beers they brew).

But when you are at a grocery store, do you grab the kiwi that's been cut in half open sitting out for display for the day? Or do you reach down and find the one that hasn't been seen, hopefully it was freshly picked today.

All I can advise is this. On brewday, I grind my grains just before I mash them as I am heating my strike water because I don't want to lose anything they are releasing.

 

[mattd2]

No matter how I respond I'll probably get flamed, or start some stupid debate, so I'll keep it brief (and edited). People say lots of things, and you don't truly know how good or not good something is until you taste it (ie the beers they brew).

But when you are at a grocery store, do you grab the kiwi that's been cut in half open sitting out for display for the day? Or do you reach down and find the one that hasn't been seen, hopefully it was freshly picked today.

All I can advise is this. On brewday, I grind my grains just before I mash them as I am heating my strike water because I don't want to lose anything they are releasing.

Don't want to flame you and then turn this in to yet another worthless dribble of a thread. I just really wanted to know how bad an idea this is, as you say people have said "no problems" but do we know what their standards for good beer are. If anyone could give a real experience of this like; fresh good, 1 month good, 2 months ok, 4 months tasted like mouthballs(?).
And again it all depends on the brewer and the schedule, I sure some guys on here do go through a sack in less than a month but that would be a select few

 

[TheCarnie]

I think of it like coffee. The leftover grounds from the previous day aren't going to taste as good, but I'm not gonna throw the grounds out. If the LHBS gave me an extra pound of crushed crystal malt. I'll throw it in the closet until i need it.

But before i bought my mill, the master brewer's assistant at the brewery said that crushed malt is not AS good after a month of sitting.

 

[samc]

Since i am low on money and cant afford a crusher and will be brewing a lot of beers with a lot of 2 row rahr. Is it bad to have crushed grains laying around in a bag for weeks or even months? I didnt know if it lost flavor or moister would be lost or something....Im thinking about buying a 50 lb bag pre crushed but dont want to screw myself and have it go "bad"

thanks!

Personally I wouldn't do it. Although properly packaged in air tight packaging I assume you should be ok for awhile.

Best thing to do would be to buy a small amount of grain, have some crushed and leave some whole. Pack them up well and then test it by chewing a spoonful every few days.

 

[Mysticmead]

I buy my grains pre-crushed since I don't have a mill yet. But I use them withing a week of purchase (normally bought the day before brewing). They are also kept sealed in plastic (thanks Brewmasters Warehouse), then double bagged and stored in my fridge. If I had my own mill, I wouldn't crush until right before dough in.

 

[Warped04]

If anyone could give a real experience of this like; fresh good, 1 month good, 2 months ok, 4 months tasted like mouthballs(?).

I think it's really hard to quantify this, as there's probably a ton of factors involved.

Realistically I'd do what you have to do, but use them as soon as you can. When you get one that tastes like mothballs, you'll know when you hit badness.

 

[lalnx]

I used to be in the same boat as you when I first went all grain. No local LHBS to go get grain/chrush. I would order 50lb Briess 2-row pre-crushed, and 10 lb wheat and a few assorted 1 lb specialty grains uncrushed. I had stored those crushed grains for as long 3-4 months without ill effects. This was in my dry, cool, 65 degree basement, in the rolled up bag, in a plastic container.
Less than ideal? Sure, but who cares you do what you have to do to get by for a bit, then stick a little more money into your tools as you go. I use a victoria mill now, mated to my old 1/2" craftsman 600rpm drill. Does a nice job, and takes only a few minutes. Make that your next investment, they are pretty cheap.

 

[Golddiggie]

A general rule of thumb (from my understanding) on crushed grain is to plan on using it within 2 months of when it was crushed. If it's still sealed (original sealed bag from when it was crushed) you probably have longer (if kept cool)... Until I get a mill, I'm only buying enough grain to cover a ~2 month time span. Any grain that I open, and don't use up, gets vacuum packaged/sealed within a few days of being opened. More for my own peace of mind than anything else...

I know that crushing the grains on brew day will probably give better results (plus you get to set the grind size to your system to maximize efficiency). Just like I grind my coffee beans the morning I brew them (usually a minute before they go into the pot)... I do grind up what I need before going someplace overnight (sealed bag)... If I'm leaving any behind (usually a planned move) then I vacuum seal them to ensure they are 100% when I go to use them next.

If you don't already have a vacuum packer (FoodSaver being the more popular brand) I would get one. Especially if you decide to purchase hops in bulk, or when you start growing your own hops.

 

[kanzimonson]

If you're trying to win homebrew competitions, then don't save crushed grain. Otherwise, you'll probably be satisfied with keeping them around for a month. I sympathize with the no money, so I think it's worth it to buy a few kits and take advantage of shipping rates.

 

[indigi]

Well I just got a mill and will soon be bottling the first few beers I made with the malt crushed immediately prior to mashing, so hopefully I'll be able to comment further. One's a single-malt IPA, one's a barleywine, and one's a dubbel, so there's going to be plenty of flavors competing for attention. I have a Helles fermenting right now too, though, so that should give me a better idea.