Keeping 'speciality' grains

[retourrbx]

I'm going to get a sac of pale ale malt but am also looking at getting some black, chocolate and wheat malt... how long are these likely to stay good for so I can work out how much to get as a "stock pile"

Thanking you...

[mysterio]

Watch how you store them. I've tried keeping speciality grains opened in the plastic bag they were sold in, and they go off after a few months. Chew a few grains when you buy them and do the same before you brew with them, you'll be able to tell if they've gone stale.

Store them uncrushed if possible, if not just treat them as you'd treat dried food, cool dry place etc.

[beermygod]

Agree whith all mysterio said,
Just like to add,that moisture is the main enemy,i have kept malt for ages in those jars whith the rubber ring and clamp down lid,(kilner?)used to pick them up from boot sales etc,the big ones hold a suprising amount of grain .

[Talheedin]

I had a similar question about crushed pale malt. I want to buy a 25Kg batch from one of the online HB stores but I'm worried that it will go bad as I normally do one brew a month using around 5Kg. Will it last that long if I seal it in a dry fermenting bin?

Thanks

Talheedin

[Vossy1]

My prsent pale malt is 4 months old, my wheat 9 months.
Keeps fine in a dry spare room

[retourrbx]

what keeps better - beer or malt...

[Talheedin]

Beer doesn't keep well at all, mine doesn't last more than a few weeks!

Thanks for that guys, big bag of malt coming up.

Talheedin

[Aleman]

I store my grain in a 60L fermenter, with 500g of silica gel, in the cool, and it keeps perfectly well. I guess that a very well trained palate could detect staling from 'old grain' but I've always been skeptical of this

[mik82]

I stored crushed Maris Otter in a tied off plastic sack for over a year and it still turned out a decent brew.

[Reg]

I use recycled baby milk tins for speciality grains plus an inner sandwich bag with the air rolled out and the seal zipped tight. No malt has ever outlasted my relatively infrequent brewing efforts.