Old prepper wheat? (whether and how)

[ruminant]

I spotted a local marketplace listing by what appears to be an old prepper getting rid of his Y2K emergency supplies:

Hard Red Wheat Berries: $20.00 per bucket OR $200.00 for all of them.
Unopened 45 lb. SuperPail of wheat berries.
I spent over $70 per bucket on these 20+ years ago, but I won't have any room for them soon.
They should be fine to grind.

One of the photos shows the original label from "Rainy Day Foods"

I'm used to buying bags of malted grains, which range from around $1/lb in bulk to $2.50/lb loose, so the price caught my eye, and a form factor that was pest free sounds really appealing. That said, I have so many questions:

* Is 25-year-old unmalted grain still good? (It shouldn't have the decreasing diastase concern, since it's not malted.)
* Is the price a good deal for the goods? I'm willing to splurge a bit for the vermin-free containers, since I'm not sure when I'll get to this.
* What would you make with this on a pot still if you had this much wheat?

[NormandieStill]

I've made 100% unmalted wheat whisky before and found it very nice.

That being said... if the buckets are unopened then you don't really know if they're pest free. Unless it's been treated in some way it could have been packaged with it's very own weevils. I've also made weevil soup but I wouldn't go out of my way to make it again!

Check local prices for unmalted wheat first. I'm in France so my prices won't compare directly, but even so, unmalted wheat from the local garden centre is still under half the price of buying wheat malt and that's before accounting for postage.

[greggn]

* Is the price a good deal for the goods?

Depends on where you live. $20USD/45 lbs is not a good deal in my area where I can buy fresh hard red wheat for $18USD/50 lbs from a choice of feed stores.

Yes, I know that the OP is referencing "food grade" wheat but what I buy from the feed stores is as clean as anything I get from a grocery store.

[zach]

I've purchased wheat in Montana for $20/50 lb bag from the farmer last year.

Azure standard has organic wheat for $41 for a 50 lb bag with free shipping on orders over $50.

You might purchase one and see how clean it is and how it ferments. I made an all wheat whisky using YLAY this last fall that is in a 5 gallon barrel now.

[8Ball]

I’d pass. Too many other fresh options out there.

[Twisted Brick]

I’d pass. Too many other fresh options out there.

+1

I found some old (raw) white wheat that didn’t smell like I wanted it to so it got dumped. For the amount of time, processes involved I’d hate to learn my spirit wasn’t the best I could make.

[shadylane]

I’d pass. Too many other fresh options out there.

Fresh is best for malting, 25-year-old wheat viability is going to be somewhere between poor and zero.
Even if your not trying to malt, the grain is over priced and just plain old.

[ruminant]

Thanks for all the advice. Even though the seller dropped the price to $10/bucket last night, I'm going to pass.

I'm afraid I'm in love with the idea of getting a good deal and the fantasy of making a lot of whiskey once I get the time. That's a recipe for a cluttered garage, not a good spirit.

[NormandieStill]

I'm afraid I'm in love with the idea of getting a good deal and the fantasy of making a lot of whiskey once I get the time. That's a recipe for a cluttered garage, not a good spirit.

Ha ha. I ressemble that remark! As the 75kg of malt in my office proves.