The dreaded "weevils" in my grains post

[Morrey]

I was weighing out grains for a Marzen (yeah, I'm a bit late) and had a partial bag of Vienna left over in a grain bin. The Vienna was probably right at a year old, and I had sealed it in a zip baggie that was stored in a pail with a gamma lid.

I was weighing the grains and saw weevils on the sides of the bucket that was holding the weighed grains. Upon inspection, the weevils were in the Vienna baggie and luckily seemed contained or isolated to that one particular baggie. I know they can spread like wildfire, so my red flag went up.

My initial thoughts were to go ahead, grind the grains and make the beer since a few bugs here and there isn't a big deal. The FDA has an allowance for foreign matter like bugs, so I wasn't particularly worried and brewing a wormy beer.

But the idea that I may carry weevil eggs over to my grain mill made me decide to ditch the grains. I figured to be safe than sorry may be my best bet, so my horses got a tasty complement to their dinner last night.

No real point to this post other than asking others what they have done...or would do...in a similar situation. Toss the weevil infested grains, or grind and brew?

 

[eric19312]

I've done both. In your situation I'd have done the same given this was year old grain. I't take the weevils as a warning that the grain might have gone stale and unless I was willing to chew up some raw to see if it tasted stale I'd dump it. If recipe really needed the grain I'd probably taste it and proceed but otherwise grain is pretty cheap and why risk it.

On other hand I went to brew a batch this summer and saw I forgot to gamma seal my new sack of british pale malt. Probably 25 pounds left in there and the sack had been at my house for a little over a month. A couple moths flew out when I opened the sack. Now I know this malt was fresh,there was a manufacturing date on the sack. It was dry - maybe a little humid but still dry in my garage. It was the base malt I needed for the days brewing and probably $30 worth of grain. I used it. Beer came out fine.

 

[passedpawn]

I use it. Freezing will kill the remaining weevils.

 

[Lefou]

I use it. Freezing will kill the remaining weevils.

+1 on that.
Please don't use the microwave to kill them. Heating the grain will denature the malt enzymes, harden the grains, and give you a very poor mash conversion. Freezing is a much better option that won't ruin your malt further.

 

[eric19312]

I’m pretty sure strike temp water will also kill the weevils.

 

[passedpawn]

I’m pretty sure strike temp water will also kill the weevils.

Right. But freeze remaining grain. I have froze for 2 days and verified that they did not come back after that.

If you have weevils, it's important to use the grain or freeze it. They will entirely eat the germ of the grain over months.

 

[bracconiere]

if you've had malt sitting for a year. you need to brew more beer! damn we ain't to 10k gallons in the tally yet!

and the year is almost over!

 

[Morrey]

if you've had malt sitting for a year. you need to brew more beer! damn we ain't to 10k gallons in the tally yet!

and the year is almost over!

I hear ya! LOL. I don't know if it is fortunate or unfortunate, but Vienna and Munich both tend to hang around too long. Maybe the fall and the thoughts of a nice amber beer make me think to use Vienna.

On the other hand, Pils, Marris Otter, Two Row and Wheat plus flaked adjuncts move thru the system w/o time to sit long enough to settle in the grain bin. I'm sure other IPA and Pale Ale brewers may tend to follow the same trends.

But I know what you mean....got to brew more beer, and more diverse beers as well!

 

[bracconiere]

I hear ya! LOL. I don't know if it is fortunate or unfortunate, but Vienna and Munich both tend to hang around too long. Maybe the fall and the thoughts of a nice amber beer make me think to use Vienna.

On the other hand, Pils, Marris Otter, Two Row and Wheat plus flaked adjuncts move thru the system w/o time to sit long enough to settle in the grain bin. I'm sure other IPA and Pale Ale brewers may tend to follow the same trends.

But I know what you mean....got to brew more beer, and more diverse beers as well!

ok, ok, as long as your working on it! lol i just added yeast to a 10g batch, and am off to add it to the yearly total!

and i just saw a thread about smoking malt? cross utilization of product maybe?

just an idea....

 

[FunkedOut]

after I found weevils in my grain, I freeze every single grain that comes into my house the day is crosses the threshold.

weevils will bore into the grain and lay their eggs there. even if your source of grains shows no signs of infestation, you could bring home a few grains with eggs inside.
I've not had a sighting after this freezing practice.

A few weeks later, I had some weevils in my rice and dry pasta. A thorough pantry clean out, dumping all the pasta and freezing any rice upon entry cured that.

So now, that's barley, rice and cigars that get frozen upon entry. (cigars for the beetles).

 

[H20ENG]

Do you all put the grain into smaller vessels or bags? I don't have room for a 50lb sack in my freezer.
Also no issue with the condensation from freeze/thaw?

I had some recently in some melanoidin malt. Of course didnt see them until my whole grain bill was in the bucket. I ran a high powered floor fan over an empty bucket and slowly trickled the grain into the empty bucket. The fan was strong enough to blow away the critters while letting the heavier grains fall through. Took some trial and error to not lose grains too but I didn't see any weevils in the bucket afterwards. Any that made it though deserved to live until crush/mash!

 

[FunkedOut]

I got room for the full sack in my freezer.

Nice idea for blowing the weevils away!

 

[passedpawn]

Do you all put the grain into smaller vessels or bags? I don't have room for a 50lb sack in my freezer.
Also no issue with the condensation from freeze/thaw?

I had some recently in some melanoidin malt. Of course didnt see them until my whole grain bill was in the bucket. I ran a high powered floor fan over an empty bucket and slowly trickled the grain into the empty bucket. The fan was strong enough to blow away the critters while letting the heavier grains fall through. Took some trial and error to not lose grains too but I didn't see any weevils in the bucket afterwards. Any that made it though deserved to live until crush/mash!

The weevils burrow into the grain. You can't blow them off. Must freeze.

They don't like the darker grains. I'm sure they never touched anything that was black. That's just for trivia in case anyone ever asks you.

Lots more info here if you are caring:

Grain Weevils Freezing Experiment

 

[FatDragon]

So now, that's barley, rice and cigars that get frozen upon entry. (cigars for the beetles).

Brilliant. I've lost quite a few stogies to beetles over the years. Time to remedy that.

 

[FunkedOut]

Now the cigars I will pamper a bit.
After 3-5 days in the freezer, I place in the fridge for several hours to thaw.
Then a few hours at room temp before pulling them out of the freezer bags (double bag) and into the humidor.

 

[divrack]

Weevils are people too.