Shelf Life - Two Row & Yeast

[TDick]

Reports of my demise have been GREATLY exaggerated!


Actually I've re-entered the labor pool, in a way.
Short version - back in December I started driving for Uber Eats and Uber/Lyft - mainly driving college students to bars and then back home on the weekends. My wife says I'm only doing it to pretend I'm back in college, and there might be something to that.
Except I get paid - money's pretty good - and I don't have to go to class.
Only problem is "my hours" are staggered through the day including weekends.
So everything has been collecting dust.
I have been looking in trying to keep up with stuff but nothing to add.

BUT.
I noticed a local hardware store which carries SOME HBS is going out of business.
Pulled in and among other things, I saw this two row.

Asked the guys who did NOT want to be working on Saturday afternoon, "how much"?
They were like, "we don't know. It's not even in inventory. We don't want to have to count it or move it."
So, I ended up with 4 ten pound bags for $15.00

Also US-05 packets for 50 cents each.

Also, the guy put it all in a box and when he put it in the car, he said, "I put some other stuff in there too. I just want to be RID of it!"

The only problem is I have NO idea how old this grain is. No dating at all on the bags.
What kind of shelf life does malted grain have?

I ASSuME if the yeast is dead, I can at least use it as nutrient.
(In fact, I could probably go back and buy all their yeast packets for that purpose for just a few bucks)

So wondering if I got a deal or just wasting time.

(good to be back)

[Twisted Brick]

Welcome back TDick!

So, take 2 lbs of your malt and do a stovetop mash in 1gal of water. After it's converted, take SG and pitch appropriate yeast. Ferment dry and let us know how it finished. If the numbers look good and it smells/tastes ok, you're good to go. I don't know if yeast goes 'bad', but like grass seed, it might lose viability over time.

[Saltbush Bill]

As long as the yeast has been kept cool and sealed in its pack it should stay good for years after its use by date. Best to keep it in the fridge.

[Expat]

The only problem is I have NO idea how old this grain is. No dating at all on the bags.
What kind of shelf life does malted grain have?

Somewhat depends on how the malt was stored, but in general, the enzymatic power will steadily decrease over time. I've been told a year is normally considered old or "slack" but I've had no issues using such. Depends on what you're trying to do.

At worst, It'll still taste like malt and contain starch but might require other sources of enzymes to complete the conversion.

[kiwi Bruce]

Old brewing hand advise...HA HA HA!
If it's not cracked and the storage was only "Okay"...it will still keep for decades. Barley malt is incredible resilient, the active enzymes are degraded by oxidization and it's almost impossible for oxygen to enter the barley corn, the hull has to be damaged and that is only going to be less than 10% of the corns in commercially malted barley. Do a test mash...if the grain smells rancid then the oils in the hull may have oxidized, but these don't affect beer brewing or distilling as they fall out with the trub in brewing beer and fall out with the yeast in a wash...the enzymes will still be good to go...Kiwi

[bilgriss]

That's right, it really depends on how it was stored. If you open the grain and it smells pleasant you are probably good. Take a few kernels and chew them. It should taste malty, and as you keep it in your mouth for a just a little bit, you'll notice it sweeten. If you are still happy at that point, no worries.

If it doesn't smell and taste good, I wouldn't use it for anything other than a sacrificial run.

Liquid yeasts decrease in viability fairly quickly, but dry yeast stored cool is good for a long time. I see a 2015 date on your picture though. If it was on a back shelf in the heat that long, it's probably not fully viable - double it up if you don't know.