Summer Heat

[Cold_Steel]

What are some signs that grain has been affected by either age, humidity, or anything else?

 

[KyleWolf]

age, most likely means air contact, meaning the grains will taste "stale"

humidity, means water, which would mean higher opportunity for something nasty to be growing in them.

those are just thoughts off the top of my head.

 

[Cold_Steel]

Now stale when you bit into the grain or stale in the beer?
Will you see the nasty growing on the grain?

 

[KyleWolf]

as far as air and staling, I imagine both will be true.

and for the nasties...most grains are not sterile when they are sent to you. So there are things already in your grain. Mostly these are yeast/fungi, and maybe some lactobacillus or other bacteria. They don't grow rapidly because for the most part they are in a dry sealed container. If there is too much moisture in your bag (I am talking about physical condensation on the inside of the bag), most likely there will be enough growth for you to physically see the little buggers. The yeast/fungi will most likely be the white/green furry variety, while the bacteria will have a white/cream oil/slime appearance.

Disclaimer, I am not sure on the bacteria, that is strictly a guess brought about from my experience in culturing bacteria.

 

[Cold_Steel]

Thanks that helped out a lot!
any rule of thumb for humidity levels where it becomes an issue. Say 80%