uncrushed grain

[brydo]

hi guys, im looking to place an order for grain but im wondering how long uncrushed grain will store for before it goes bad ? im gonna get a crusher so i can crush just before mashing ( as my water is heating up basically)
its just so i can place one order and hopefully that will last me for a few months as i only brew small 5 to 10 litre batches and would like to get different grain on one order and save on delivery charges.

cheers for any help

 

[Dads_Ale]

The crushed grain I get usually has a use by date of up to a year. I have some from 2016 and still using is. The main thing is storage, I store mine indoors so it doesn’t get damp.
Having said that whole grain will likely stay fresh longer.

 

[brydo]

Oh really, that's good to know. I always thought once it was crushed it started to lose some of its value. Thanks for putting me right

 

[chrisb8]

I vacuum pack my crushed grain and it keeps fine but I haven't kept any as long as @Dads_Ale

 

[brydo]

Does crushing just before use have any advantage then ? Or should I save myself the £80 and not bother with the crusher ?

 

[MmmBeer]

I'm not sure I would want to use 5 year old malt, but its perfectly fine to keep for a year or so crushed. I keep my malt in plastic storage boxes to keep the nasties out. I don't think I could be bothered milling everything myself.

 

[foxy]

hi guys, im looking to place an order for grain but im wondering how long uncrushed grain will store for before it goes bad ? im gonna get a crusher so i can crush just before mashing ( as my water is heating up basically)
its just so i can place one order and hopefully that will last me for a few months as i only brew small 5 to 10 litre batches and would like to get different grain on one order and save on delivery charges.

cheers for any help

Our suppliers put a use by date of one year for uncrushed grain, crushed grain a lot less. Well worth getting a mill gives you the control over your own crush, as well as keeping the grain fresher before using.
https://byo.com/article/shelf-life-...n will store for,grain to airtight trash cans.

 

[brydo]

Brilliant, that's great mate, thank you

 

[RichardM]

Does crushing just before use have any advantage then ? Or should I save myself the £80 and not bother with the crusher ?

Crushing it yourself means that you can control how finely it is crushed, so you can get it right to suit your equipment.

 

[Obadiah Boondoggle]

The crushed Muntons malt that we buy in our group buy has a best before date 18 months hence

 

[foxy]

Brilliant, that's great mate, thank you

Here is a good guide from Crisp, take note of chapter 7, a good reason for milling your own. Still have to have a good storage environment, if you envisage milling your own in the future just purchase what you know you will use each month or so until you buy a mill. In pursuit of brewing a good ale a mill will be a valuable part of your armoury. I have three mills on different settings, one for barley, one for wheat and one for rye

 

[jeg3]

I buy most of my malt uncrushed. Some of the more specialist malts I've had for 2 or 3 years and keep it in an airtight container in the dark. I get through a 25kg sack of pale malt in 6 months.

Milling is a doddle if you've got a cordless drill. Just remember to keep the speed at about 200 rpm

 

[An Ankoù]

I've just finished a 10 Kg thick, polythene bagful of crushed brown malt with a label "the thri£ty shopper.co.uk" Best Before Dec 2010, so I reckon it was about 13 years old. Absolutely fine. Dry and crisp as the day it was made and the beers taste good, too. Now, I expect the greater part of the flavour from brown malt to be from the roast and it contains only 2% moisture compared with pale or pilsner malt, but if it's kept properly, it'll keep years longer than the use by date. The key is to keep it absolutely dry.

Anybody remember the Thrifty Shopper. They had some great prices on bulk, vacuum sealed hops. I wonder what happened to them. I remember they started tagging themselves with "Join the homebrew revolution" or something like that, which is now used by Geterbrewed. I'd be surprised if there were any connection, though.