How Do I Store Rye and Barley Malt?

[roostershooter7]

In order for it to be economical I will have to purchase rye and barley malt in 50# increments. What is the best way to store these, and what are their respective shelf lifes?

I was thinking of breaking the grains up into 5# batches, and using our Foodsaver to suck all of the air out of the bag. This has worked well in preserving dried fruits and veggies. Would the same hold true for malting grains?

[rubber duck]

As long as it's not milled it's good for a year. For really long term I load it into a corny keg and hit it with beer gas. On beer gas it should be good until Jesus comes back.

If your not using a50lb sack in a year your not distilling enough.

[Samohon]

AS RD says, whole grain will last a lot longer than cracked (milled) grain.

In my experience with them, the majority of the malts I use for homebrew and distillation, are below 5.0% moisture, and quite simply at that low a moisture level, very little can sustain life. Molds won't grow, and many grain related bugs just will not be able to survive in an environment that dry. Some speciality malts have slightly higher moisture levels, and are more prone to going off than the base malts used for distillation.

But, like all home brewers/distillers after a little while brewing/mashing you will end up with a whole box full of malt and other grains that have been used in recipes but now sit, half used until you buy another bag of the same stuff because you forgot you had some. Storing malt is a question I asked myself when I started to do AG-ing, so I done a little research a while ago and came up with this method...

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Storing Grain for Up To a Year..
When storing grain over any period of time you have to keep it dry. Because of the way it’s manufactured and processed at the malting house, malt usually contains around 4% – 8% moisture. Over time, if the crushed malt (that's what I get here in the UK) is left exposed it will start to absorb moisture from the air. This will cause it to deteriorate very very quickly. Keep the malt sealed and limit the exposure to the air. You can buy air tight containers or zip lock freezer bags for this purpose and they will easily ensure the a long life for your stored malt, but I go a step further...

I place the sealed freezer bags (2Kg at a time) inside a large vacuum bag, you know, the type you connect to the hoover. I place a date that I bagged the grain onto the bag to be stored, then place this vacuumed bag into a cupboard that is cool and dark. Like any raw ingredient the fresher you use it the better your resulting beer/shine will be. However, that said, I have used small quantities for beers and larger copious ammounts for my whisky mashes and my grains stay fresh up to 12 months after I purchase a 25Kg (50lb) bag. Its cheaper to buy 25Kg at a time for me.

It don't last long though...

Hope it helps...

[King Of Hearts]

I just keep it in the bags it came in, I only buy a years worth, no problems, cool and dry in my basement.

[heartcut]

I keep malt, rice, corn and sugar in the original bags inside 20 gal plastic garbage cans, but never kept anything for a year or more. We've had a couple massive liquid accidents, so the garbage cans add some value.

[Tater]

ya turn it into liquid and store that. What sam said +1

[DrMalt]

It's funny you ask right now. I'm currently working on an article on this topic for a newsletter for my malt sales business.

As other posters have said whole grains are easily stored for up to a year without much degradation in quality. Keep your stock cool, and dry in a dark area. Preferably in a container that will keep out vermin and bugs. Bugs are always the first thing to attack grain. The bag the malt came in might be good enough but I would at least invest in a Rubbermaid type tote or some buckets with lids.

I store a lot of specialties that may need to sit for more than a year. Smoked malt just smells and needs a good seal to keep it from smelling up adjacent malt and the storage area. There are two ways I deal with that. The bag gets split into at least 2 parts. The first part will be used in the next year. That portion is stored loose in a type 2 HDPE food grade bucket with a lid using a gasket to seal it and keep out air and moisture to preserve quality. Because I go in and out of this bucket (20L or 5 US Gallon) I opt to install a Gamma-Seal Lid. These lids are perfect for turning a bucket into a storage system. It has a very good seal that makes the bucket air tight and it is a 2 part system that includes a nice screw off lid to make getting into the bucket easy. I will usually add an oxygen absorbing pack to the bucket as well but if I'm going into that bucket more than once a month it's really just a waste of an oxygen absorbing pack and isn't really needed.

The second portion (usually 15 - 20 pounds) gets put into a 5 US Gallon, 4 mil, mylar bag. Along with the grain is a suitably sized oxygen absorber. The bag gets sealed with the heat sealer on my vac-pack machine. The oxygen absorber removes the oxygen preventing oxidation which is the main source of degradation of grain in storage. The bag prevents more oxygen and moisture from getting in. I add this to a bucket with any lid that fits securely to keep out the bugs and vermin. This also provides protection from puncture of the bag. Stored like this whole grain can be stored for 25 years and retain it's quality.

For shipping out small volumes of 1 to 3 Kg (6.6 pounds) I commonly use the vac-pack bags and seal them. This ensures the grain will stay fresh until the customer opens it. Quite often the sharp ends of the malt will pierce these bags. For shipping 5 Kg+ sized quantities I use the Mylar which is almost indestructible.

The Mylar bags, Gamma-Seal lids and oxygen absorbers can be found at better malt suppliers and are common to stores selling prepper supplies.

The buckets and systems described above do make for easily organized ways to store your Brew Bits and I would recommend it to anyone. It's cheap. The buckets I use are all re-purposed. The best ones are from sanitizers (bleach) sold for $2 or $3 each at janitorial suppliers. Restaurants are good sources but stay away from pickle buckets, the smell never goes away... Bakeries have been good suppliers as well. Gamma-Seal lids can be had for $8 - $14 each and will last a lifetime and can also be handy in other applications like a storage container in my canoe. Mylar bags are about $2 each and are also reusable. My customers had made comments when receiving them with their orders and seem to like them.

[EscarpmentDew]

I bought a 25kg bag of 2-row malted barley over a year and a half ago and it has been stored in a basement inside a plastic container with a towel over the top and the lid loosely covering it. I thought a tight seal would be bad. I did a 1/2 liter single-malt batch yesterday to test the malt and thankfully the iodine test passed. The grains smell healthy and obviously work, but it will be interesting to see if this stuff is only good enough for a single-malt batch at this point. I am going to try a cracked corn recipe with this malt now.

[Prairiepiss]

I store mine in 55 gal open top drums. Throw the bag in put the lid on and flood it with CO2.

[VikArggo]

Barley can also be stored in a dry iron banks. I always keep if I want to put on the next year.

[heartcut]

For anyone who doesn't have a CO2 or beer gas bottle- When you start a ferment, put your grain, bag and all, in a tote or garbage can and stick the blowoff tube in the container for a day. It'll kill the weevil eggs and any other vermin and push the O2 out the top, and it's free.

[Prairiepiss]

For anyone who doesn't have a CO2 or beer gas bottle- When you start a ferment, put your grain, bag and all, in a tote or garbage can and stick the blowoff tube in the container for a day. It'll kill the weevil eggs and any other vermin and push the O2 out the top, and it's free.

Care should be taken so that the ferment can't puke into the grain bin. I would hate to see anyone loose a mess of grains.

Other then that. It's a good idea.

You can also use a working ferment to purge secondary fermenters. Before racking a ferment into them.

[humbledore]

I ferment in an old chest freezer with a temp control on it. First time I used it I had two fermenters going to town in there, I bent down to take a look at the bubbler and nearly choked from the CO2...had a freezerful of it! Be interesting to build a box or large container with two sections, one for grain one for fermenters, just to use that CO2.