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This has happened before, however not to this degree - the question is dump or brew on?
I've learned my lesson for future storage
Pics attached
Thoughts?
Bad smell is not a good sign. Maybe grind a cup or 2 and make a mini-mash and test it.
I believe all grain has potential weevils. A few says at sub-0 temp wipes them out. Do you have room in your freezer? Freee the bag when you get a new batch, then defrost and store in sealed containers.
I would definitely dump the grain ASAP, before those bugs take hold over all the other sacks and the brewery. Malt is the most important ingredient in beer and its quality is the most important factor when brewing good beer and all insects in brewery are possible source of microbial contamination as well. If they have laid eggs in the malt, more flying things will pop up later (and it may even be impossible to remove all those adults from the grain).
Grain is washed thoroughly before being malted and any living thing will not survive the malting process. Anything you find crawling around your malt crawled in while malt was being stored.All grain has weevils, its inevitable - part of the harvesting
*View's OP's pics*
Seriously, dump the grain. Any other grain you have that hasn't become infested yet should be put in the freezer for several days to kill off any eggs. While that grain is in the freezer, call in an exterminator. It'll cost some $$, but it will help prevent a recurrence.
Edit: Buy some 5 gallon buckets with Gamma Seal lids to store grain after you freeze-treat it. It'll prevent other critters from getting at it.
Interesting article about those pests, called Lesser Grain Borers, here: https://nationalhomebrew.com.au/brewers-blog/bugs-in-your-grain
They apparently can survive the malting process if not sufficiently gassed. In addition to freezing the grain to kill them and their eggs/larve you can flush with C02, although that method is more expensive. There are other recommendations in the article as well.
beernutz- thanks for the read. After reading that article there is no way I would brew with that grain. A grain that smells bad isn't going to make a good beer.
I'm a little disappointed. I wanted to hear about the WeevAle.
(Just kidding, that was nasty)
I'm a little disappointed. I wanted to hear about the WeevAle.
(Just kidding, that was nasty)
+1 to dumping. I've used grain that had weevils in it and the beer was great! Improves head retention I think! But that infestation you showed was way worse (way-way worse) and the smell would seal the dump deal!
You must live in the South or somewhere humid. Out west, I've never had a bug in my grain. So much for vegan beer. The protein might not be too bad. A friend of min e in Oregon makes Oyster Stout with real oysters and it is fantastic. What if you put the grain in a kettle in the oven at low temp to try to drive them out?View attachment 598783 View attachment 598784 View attachment 598785 I was planning a brew session, and wanted to organize a couple of things - primarily grains to mill - when low and behold; weevils - everywhere
This has happened before, however not to this degree - the question is dump or brew on?
I've learned my lesson for future storage
Pics attached
Thoughts?
Where did you buy those from , anyway? I'm assuming the grain came shipped in those exact bags...I'm guessing the bug infestation originated at the grain silo if not the field they grew in. Just asking ,so I never buy from there .View attachment 598783 View attachment 598784 View attachment 598785 I was planning a brew session, and wanted to organize a couple of things - primarily grains to mill - when low and behold; weevils - everywhere
This has happened before, however not to this degree - the question is dump or brew on?
I've learned my lesson for future storage
Pics attached
Thoughts?
Weevil Story!
Last summer we started finding weevils all over the floor in one of our rooms. They started spreading and getting worse. We couldn't figure out the source of the infestation. All my brewing grain in the basement was fine, as was all the flour and dry goods in the pantry. The weird part was there was a noticeable concentration in one area of the house and they would spread from there.
We were going to get our house resided soon due to some woodpecker damage to the existing siding, and that's when it dawned on me the damage was on the outside of the same wall where we saw the heaviest concentration inside. I went outside and looked, and there were weevils on the side of the house. But still, no apparent source. But that's when it dawned on me: I had a compost pile of spent grain in the backyard over the summer-- I typically dispose of it at the town dump but for whatever reason I couldn't so it just stayed out back. It was 30 feet away from this side of the house. I went over and poked around with a rake. It was infested with everything you can imagine... a squirming pile of spent grain and all sorts of critters. And of course, plenty of weevils. I doused the thing with bug spray, buried the entire mass in a 3 foot deep hole, and a couple days later the problem resolved itself.
I've dumped spent grain for 10+ years behind my house in wooded area. No problem, though there is an awful sourmash smell wafting into the woods for a day or two after brewday. Neighbor behind me once mentioned he thinks animals die regularly back there - haha.
so what do you do with spent grains?
I got weevils once, from a LHBS that has since gone out of business in Bakersfield. Luckily, I caught them before they spread!You must live in the South or somewhere humid. Out west, I've never had a bug in my grain. So much for vegan beer. The protein might not be too bad. A friend of min e in Oregon makes Oyster Stout with real oysters and it is fantastic. What if you put the grain in a kettle in the oven at low temp to try to drive them out?
I just dump mine in the trash. I figure it will be one of the "better" things in the landfill and might even help some of the other garbage decompose.
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