Storage Questions

[Jimmy Ale]

My first AG batch is fermenting away nicely and I am now considering what to brew next. My nearest decent homebrew shop is a half-hour drive away so I thought I'd stock up in bulk to avoid having to keep making trips every time I want to do a new brew. So basically I was wondering what the shelf life is for the various brewing ingredients (i.e. crushed grain, hops, yeast) and what the best storage techniques are? At the moment I've sealed my leftover ingredients in tuppaware boxes but not sure if this is best or not...

On a totally unrelated issue, I was thinking of having a crack at a traditional brown ale (I had one in a pub recently and it was really tasty, sweet with lots of body and flavour) but the recipe calls for lactose to contribute the final sweetness. My local brewing shop doesn't seem to stock it and so I was wondering where the best place to buy it is?

Thanks for your help!

 

[evanvine]

Your stored grain must be kept dry and away from the dreaded mouse.
Any ingress of moisture will turn the grain "fusty" and render it completely useless.
Most on this forum say that hops should be vacuum packed and kept in the freezer.

 

[jamesb]

On a totally unrelated issue, I was thinking of having a crack at a traditional brown ale (I had one in a pub recently and it was really tasty, sweet with lots of body and flavour) but the recipe calls for lactose to contribute the final sweetness. My local brewing shop doesn't seem to stock it and so I was wondering where the best place to buy it is?

Hop and Grape sell it. As do I suspect some of our forum sponsors.

You might get lucky with a health food shop.

 

[corby_brewer]

You might get lucky with a health food shop.

James is right.
Im brewing a brown ale next weekend and the recipe im using call for it. Couldnt find it in ASDA so went to Holland & Barret and they sold it.