Hops and malt storage

[neil007]

Hi

I will have some malt and hops left from my first brew - how can i store the remainder and how long will they last? LOOKS expensive if you only need small batches of a few types for one brew.

cheers :

 

[phettebs]

All of my hops go into the freezer until I use them. They will start to smell cheesy or rancid when they get too old. I've used 2+ year old hops without problems but these are typically pellets and not whole hops.

Base malt I keep in the sack in the cool dry basement. It's uncrushed until I brew. Crushed grain has a much shorter life. Not sure how short since I don't crush mine until I need it.

Specialty grains I keep in airtight kitchen type plastic containers in the basement too. The biggest thing is to keep the grain dry and away from humid areas.

As far as dry malt extract, I keep that in a sealed Tupperware container in the basement too. I only use that for making starters so I don't go through it too quickly.

That's how I do it with my raw materials. YMMV.

Barry

 

[neil007]

Many thanks

 

[Hawks]

Mine is fairly similar - grains all sealed up in bags in the garage in a big bin to keep the light out as well. Hops in the freezer.

I have kept crushed speciality grains for around 6 months with no noticeable issues. I also buy pale malt crushed in 25KG bags, so they tend to last me around 2 - 3 months, again no problems. :thumb: