Old malt

[Scotty]

I have some lager malt that was crushed in Sept 2010 which has not been kept in the best of conditions (it has been kept dry though). I understand that it won't be as viable as when first crushed, but is there a general rule for increasing the malt bill to compensate?

[Grahame]

I have used crushed malt up to a year old, not kept ideal but kept dry and I didn't get any drop in efficiency nor a poor beer. If the malt smells like it did when you first got it, or thereabouts, it will be fine. Slack malt loses it's smell.

[Scotty]

Cheers Grahame. I've just checked the sack of malt and it smells great, no mould and plenty of lovely malt dust.

[Horden Hillbilly]

Scotty, when any of the family get new shoes or slippers, I always nick the silica gel sachets & put them on top of my grains. This should help them from going slack.

[Scotty]

I bought 10x50g bags from ebay last year for a few quid HH and they appear to have worked a treat.

[EccentricDyslexic]

nice idea, just bought some of ebay, i suppose i could put some in cotton pouches and drop them in with the grains? Then hopefully the bags will withstand the regeneration at 100c too...?

Steve

[alfie09]

in work we buy in tons of copper strip. inside the pallets are big bean bags full of dessicant i have been using them they only go in the bin. worked a treat upto now and i have put 2 inside my sack of malt

[alfie09]

i started using them when i went to get my boiler after my first few brews in it and there was black mould growing in the bottom were i must of left some water residue.