Show me your grain storage

[kh54s10]

If you have a local dairy, check them out. I got most of my buckets there for $1.50 each with lid. Though I didn't notice the lids the first 4 buckets that I bought. I don't use the lids, often, anyway.

 

[Immocles]

How about crushed grains? Same method, or are they super more susceptible to going stale? I haven't got a mill yet, and the grains I just ordered should probably last me about 2 months. Will a vacuum seal and a dark spot in my basement do the trick?

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

I don't have photos, but I recommend the food grade buckets from Home Depot or Lowes.

For a while a friend was giving me free buckets and lids from a grocery store. These buckets originally contained icing. Too much time and effort to clean the free buckets and lids. With the Home Depot or Lowes buckets a simple soap and warm water cleaning, drying and they are ready to use.

 

[DiscDuffer]

Old peanut butter jars for 1# or less of specialty grains. Still trying to figure out what to do with larger amounts, as they are in the bags I buy them in piled in a small metal trash can.

 

[odie]

mine is a mess right now. I’m putting shelves up. 5gal buckets and gamma lids...you’re looking at about 700# of assorted grains...

 

[jeeppilot]

Anyone use these or something similar from IKEA? I haven’t seen them in person, but they appear to have a silicon rubber gasket. They have this size and another that is double the size.

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S69276807/

 

[schematix]

Cheap and highly effective.

 

[odie]

cleaned up a bit. Still some work to do. The small extra bedroom is now the granary...yes I’m single... I found some wrought iron shelf brackets and stained some pine boards. Top shelf will display beer steins...real ones...lower shelf will hold low quantity specialty grains and misc ingredients n stuff

 

[Tobor_8thMan]

Very nice. Clean, organized and items readily available. Nice job!

 

[David SEMich]

For my specialty grains, I'm using storage containers my wife found. Can't remember the brand. Of course, the upper left container is reuse of a food container.

They have a good seal and certainly look pretty with different grains.

Bulk grains are in 5 gallon buckets w/gamma lids. For inbetween storage, I found 2 gallon paint containers seal nicely.

 

[JohnSand]

How about crushed grains? Same method, or are they super more susceptible to going stale? I haven't got a mill yet, and the grains I just ordered should probably last me about 2 months. Will a vacuum seal and a dark spot in my basement do the trick?

I think that will be fine.

 

[seatazzz]

I bought a big plastic garbage can with lid for my base malt, the specialty grains stay in the bags they came in and are stored in there as well. Now that I'm roasting/caramelizing my own specialty malts (to a point), once they're done they go in paper lunch bags to rest for a couple of weeks then go in the fridge. Makes it harder to plan brewdays but the pipeline is relatively full right now, so have time in hand.

 

[twd000]

following this thread...

one large container seems a lot more cost effective than a ton of smaller ones

Why not leave base malts in the sack they came in, and toss all the opened sacks in a couple 25-gallon Roughneck totes?

 

[kh54s10]

following this thread...

one large container seems a lot more cost effective than a ton of smaller ones

Why not leave base malts in the sack they came in, and toss all the opened sacks in a couple 25-gallon Roughneck totes?

You want to limit oxygen and humidity. The better the seal the longer your grains will last. Bags usually have a plastic layer in them to keep moisture at bay. Once opened that barrier is compromised.

 

[twd000]

You want to limit oxygen and humidity. The better the seal the longer your grains will last. Bags usually have a plastic layer in them to keep moisture at bay. Once opened that barrier is compromised.

I run a dehumidifier in my basement, so moisture won't be a problem

I'm not sure how several small containers keep out oxygen and humidity better than large containers. You're not evacuating the air when you reseal the containers are you?

Has anyone tried using those vacuum bags that are sold for storing bedding? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ICEEHUO/ref=twister_B07JWGTC5Q?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
You could toss all you loose opened grain bags in once vacuum bag and suck all the air out with a vacuum cleaner to prevent it from going stale

I think a year of storage is about the longest I would want to keep grain around. 4 batches of base malt should use up a 50-lb sack in 3-4 months time

 

[cnash]

Amazon had a sale on Vittles Vaults so I got some 25lb ones for grain storage (and an extra for dog food storage)

 

[TechFanMD]

View attachment 610371View attachment 610372View attachment 610378cleaned up a bit. Still some work to do. The small extra bedroom is now the granary...yes I’m single... I found some wrought iron shelf brackets and stained some pine boards. Top shelf will display beer steins...real ones...lower shelf will hold low quantity specialty grains and misc ingredients n stuff

I'm surprised that those grey buckets which look like they used to have paint in them don't outgass some volatile compounds into the grain (that are embedded and permeating out of the plastic).

 

[kh54s10]

I run a dehumidifier in my basement, so moisture won't be a problem

I'm not sure how several small containers keep out oxygen and humidity better than large containers. You're not evacuating the air when you reseal the containers are you?

Has anyone tried using those vacuum bags that are sold for storing bedding? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ICEEHUO/ref=twister_B07JWGTC5Q?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
You could toss all you loose opened grain bags in once vacuum bag and suck all the air out with a vacuum cleaner to prevent it from going stale

I think a year of storage is about the longest I would want to keep grain around.

4 batches of base malt should use up a 50-lb sack in 3-4 months time

My specialty grains are in lock and lock style food containers. They have a seal in the lid. I have different sizes for different amounts of grain. I don't evacuate the air but the containers are also not allowing fresh air all the time.

I thought I would keep grain for only about a year, but I bought a lot and then with a relocation my brewing slowed way down for a while. I am working through the oldest, some of which was bought in 2015. I have kept them sealed in the containers except when weighing for a recipe and they are not stale. I am sure not as fresh as if I bought new, but they are still making very good beer. In fact a few batches ago I brewed one of my best ever with older grains.

Pictures in reply #4

 

[odie]

I'm surprised that those grey buckets which look like they used to have paint in them don't outgass some volatile compounds into the grain (that are embedded and permeating out of the plastic).

Paint from my house. Latex, not oil based. Been thoroughly cleaned with just soap n water the same day I sprayed the paint. Been sitting a couple years airing out. For dry grain I got no problem with them, cause I know what was in it and how It was cleaned.

Now some random bucket? No way.

 

[toms_Jeep]

Finally found some nice containers to store my specialty grain. I just need to move some shelves around to fit things better.
These have the airtight lids, I have 5 galybuckets with Gamma lids for base grains.

 

[hafmpty]

Finally found some nice containers to store my specialty grain. I just need to move some shelves around to fit things better.
These have the airtight lids, I have 5 galybuckets with Gamma lids for base grains.View attachment 619055

These are just what I’ve been looking for. Can you give a link and a breakdown of sizing and amounts you can fit in each? Thanks! Nice labels too.

 

[toms_Jeep]

These are just what I’ve been looking for. Can you give a link and a breakdown of sizing and amounts you can fit in each? Thanks! Nice labels too.

I found the container at Walmart, I really liked these because they were all the same size lids and they stacked well. Here is the like for the 3 piece set https://www.walmart.com/ip/Better-Homes-and-Gardens-3-Pack-Food-Storage-Container-Set-Blue/668003260.
Medium Size link
Large Size link



The container sizes are as follows (for the cup to lb calculation I was told about 4 cups to 1 lb). They are 10.0 x 5.25 base, large is 11.00 height, medium 6.75 height and the small I will need to measure but about 4.25 height. when you stack the medium and small it is the same height as the large.
Small 9.3 cups - just over 2 lbs of grain
Medium 14.6 cups - just over 3-1/2 lbs of grain
Large 24.4 cups - Just over 6 lbs of grain

The labels are standard shipping labels on my Dyno 450 printer, it works great cause I can print them 1 at a time and the text can be rotated either way easily

 

[renstyle]

Space is tight in the townhouse.

I was “blessed” with free use of a slightly used coat closet.

A sack of Pilsner, and a sack of 2row pale reside in 4 pails with gamma lids.

A 5th bucket had 10lb of Vienna and 10lb of Munich for the fall.

That is the extent of my base malts.

The various specialty malts are above in dollar tree containers. I picked them up before the price increase, but still a good deal.

Also included:

Top shelf:
Brewing salts (6 types)

Misc hoses used during the brew day hanging in the middle of it all

Below:
(2) 5gal carboys of RO water for next brew day
(several) classic tupperware containers for temp storage of recipes prior to milling
(cardboard box) my cereal killer (tm) 2-row mill
(cooler) 5 gallon igloo cooler I use for MAIB

 

[Jayjay1976]

Sweet setup. I have a bit more room now, but the best, most fevered years of my brewing career took place in a closet. So much fun in such a tiny space, brew on friend!!

 

[renstyle]

Sweet setup. I have a bit more room now, but the best, most fevered years of my brewing career took place in a closet. So much fun in such a tiny space, brew on friend!!

Thanks! My kettle still resides on a wheeled cart floating around in the kitchen, but so far it's stayed out of the way!

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Since this thread was resurrected, I will share... Note that I keep my grains in a lower level room that is temperature controlled. I have seen a mouse or two over the years, but no other real pests to speak of.

Thoughts

• I am pretty happy with the 5 gallon buckets + snap on lids for bulk grain storage. Grain seems to keep well, they cost less than $10 for the bucket + lid combo, and when empty the buckets nest for storage. They will hold about 25 lbs each, so not quite enough for a full 55lb sack into two buckets. The Vittles Vaults on sale might have been a better solution for not much more $.
• I am also very happy with the containers from Walmart that I got for medium storage. I have a number of containers that hold about 4lbs of grain and a pair that can hold 10+ lbs of grain. I have not seen these listed at Walmart recently. I think the smaller ones were in the $5 each range.
• I have not figured out a small grain storage solution that fits me. Keeping the grains in a Ziploc bag stored in this small storage container works. The grain seems to store very well in these conditions. It is just a bit of a pain to see what I have in there. Small containers can add up in cost, and it seems odd to have containers that are 3/4 full of air. I probably just need to have less small amounts around...
• Since I moved to keeping a mix of base malts and specialty grains on hand, I have been learning more about how fast I use up specific grains. I have been working to reduce the amount of grains that I have in stock. I might save a few dollars buying a 5lb bag online, but I don't really want to have grains sitting around for 2+ years. On the other hand, having a mix of grains on hand does fit my indecisive flexible brewing nature.

 

[jrgtr42]

I keep my base grains in a couple of big pet food storage containers. They're on wheels so I can move them in and out easily. Specialty ones are in a couple Vittles Vaults I found on sale at my local supermarket.
|I keep them in their original bags, and toss them in.
Hops and dry yeast live in the freezer, |I've frozen other yeasts with glycerine, plus another couple jars on the fridge of leftovers from my last brew, that will likely be used very soon. I should freeze some of that stuff down, though.

 

[MajorJC]

I found this today at Home Depot!
It has a rubber gasket that makes it air-tight.
They had a 20 gallon one also, but I thought this 12 gallon one would be right for me.
After filling this one up, I'm thinking I'll go back and get a 20 gallon one also.