Storage Of Bulk Grains

[Terek]

Hello all. I have been brewing for a few years and have always rented homes to live in. I always hated brewing half in the kitchen and half in the garage, due to space issues. Well, i finally got my company making money (took 4 years) and bought an acre farm out in the country. I have always dreamed of having a dedicated "brew room". Now i am in the process of building one from my dreams in my new shop. I am trying to design a grain storage system, because i would like to keep many types of grain on hand so i can brew whatever, whenever.


The set up i would like is whenever i want to brew something, just buy 5 lbs of everything i need (minus the base grain, will be buying 50 lb bags) and have enough for 3 or 4 more of that brew later. Only issue is some of these grains might be sitting in their storage containers for up to, mabe even over, a year.

My question is how long are whole un ground grains good for? What to store them in? And should i even persue this setup? Will it be worth it?

My LHBS has 2-row 50lb bags for $37, and they give you a 15% discount on all specialty grains bought in 5lb or more increments. So the savings will be great. But, can an un crushed grain stay fresh for over a year?


FYI i will be posting, on another thread, pics coming up of the brew room build. Gonna take a bit, but its gonna be awesome!

 

[lazarwolf]

The grains will last for a year easily. The quality will begin to fade but there are many many tricks to overcome that. Including Roasting your own grains, and even making your own crystal grains. Go to Barleypopmaker blog for more information. I have 260 lbs of grain right now. We brew 10 to 15 gallons every weekend. It may sound like a lot but there are 5 of us on the brew crew. So it work out about right. We buy in bulk to save money. We store grains in 5 gallon buckets. Not the best storage method, but it is what we have. We Schedule in part according to grain age. Although for the first year, don't worry about it. The brulosopher recently did a beer with 2 year old ingredients. Results showed no real problems with the beer.

 

[chickypad]

Grain isn't harvested year round so it has to be stored somewhere. I routinely keep unmilled grains past a year and have gone up to 2+ with no problems. I use airtight pet food containers for base grain and big tupperware containers for smaller quantities of specialty grains, I usually just keep them in their bags inside the containers. Keeping them dry is key. If I'm worried I always taste them before using. An article in last month's BYO lists "industry standard" best by dates for properly stored whole grain as 18 mo to 2 yrs for base grains and 18 mo to 3 yr for specialty grain depending on type.

I think it's totally worth it to keep a good stock on hand, I love being able to change plans and brew on a whim without having to hit the LHBS every time. Good luck with your brew room, sounds great.

 

[November]

What you are describing is exactly what I do for specialty grains. I found plastic screwtop containers at the dollar store that hold 5 pounds or so and I keep 12 of these with various specialty grains. I typically design batches around what I have. I have kept stuff in this manner for a year easy with no problem.

For base grains, I buy 50 pound bags and store them in homer buckets.

 

[Calder]

2 years has been fine for me. Some speciality grains have gone much longer.

I assume base grains start to lose some of their diastatic power at 18 months.

Smoked malts start to lose 'smokeyness' very quickly.

Store dry, as moisture degrades grain. I store in ziplock bags (even bulk 50 lbs grains are re-packed). They also help to keep out flies/bugs.

Store away from vermin. I store my sealed bags in plastic tubs with snap-on lids. I have cats which probably helps too.

Keep cool. The cooler, the longer they will store. I don't do anything, but do keep them in my basement, which probably averages 65 F over the year, with a max temp of maybe 70 F.

 

[Dynachrome]

I keep my un-ground two row and carapils in the chest freezer on the bottom - out of the way.

I opened up a plastic Breiss jar of chocolate malt wheat and used over half of it. I took a healthy pinch and chewed it up to see what the flavor was like. It didn't taste spoiled.

 

[drgonzo2k2]

I store my base grains that I buy full sacks of in the large Vittle Vaults. I've got them all on a wooden shelving system next to where my scale is, so it's pretty easy to just scoop out what I need from there.

For all the specialty grains I buy those in 1, 5, or 10 lb quantities, depending on what it is, and I store all of those in a variety of the containers that products from Costco come in. It seems that lots of stuff we get from there comes in air-tight food-safe plastic containers, so I just give them a quick PBW soak to remove most of the labels and any food odors and they're good to go.

 

[Terek]

Thanks all, these tips will be used well