Old grains... HA!

[Riggs401]

I just brewed a beer using crushed grains that were 3 months old and I notice absolutely no difference. Maybe my taste buds are broken, but I think people who say you need to brew them quick (same week) are OCD. It's perfectly fine to use old crushed grain!

 

[IslandLizard]

Cool and dry (non-humid) storage helps a lot.

 

[Riggs401]

I had mine in the Midwest clear grain bag, in a box. It was cool and dry since it's winter here in New England.

 

[kh54s10]

Yep storage is the key. I wouldn't leave my grains open on the counter for even a couple of days if it was 90 degrees with 90% humidity.

On the other hand if you had a vacuum sealed bag in the freezer - many months, if not years.

 

[IslandLizard]

I had mine in the Midwest clear grain bag, in a box. It was cool and dry since it's winter here in New England.

Sure, the well sealed plastic bag is part of the equation.

 

[stevedasleeve]

Fwiw I got a 50KG sack of Fawcett medium crystal about 5 years ago. Still tastes good crunchy and no stale flavors. I keep my bulk grains in buckets with tight fitting lids.

 

[JimRausch]

Fairly routinely I'll buy ingredients for 3-4 brews, all crushed. They arrive from NB or Homebrew Supply or from my LHBS bagged well, and I double bag them in old grain bags. Store the whole thing in sealed tubs in my basement which stays 57-67 year-round, and is pretty dry. Some I use within a week, but with others it may be 3-4 months before I get to them. Always have performed well. As stated above- store well and they will treat you well.

 

[IndyBlueprints]

So I recently inherited some equipment from a friend who quit brewing about 7 years due to a major injury. There are about 6 sealed zip locks of different specialty grains, uncrushed. I'm seriously thinking about throwing them all in with about 10# of 2 row and some hops, and seeing how it comes out.

 

[John Eberly]

Any idea of what they are? I bought some 'mystery crystal" as part of a package deal years ago, still using it.

If they still smell and taste good I say use 'em up.

 

[Dr_Jeff]

I bought out a former homebrewer that had quit about 10-12 years ago. In the assortment of stuff, I got a nearly full bag of marris otter and about a half a sack of pilsner malt. Both bags made delicious beer. The pilsen was in the original bag with a zip tie on it, the MO had a small hole in the side of the bag and had been stored in a new plastic garbage can with a lid on it. Most likely these had been stored in the crawlspace under their house.

 

[Calder]

Grain, crushed or whole will last years. It is the sugars and starches that we are after, that will pretty much stay stable. Given adverse conditions, crushed will deteriorate quicker than whole.

Grain is dried to a level that will keep the grain stable, and mold will not grow. It is drier than most household environments. The biggest enemy that you have is humidity and moisture in the air. If kept sealed it should last a long time. Any exposure to the environment will slowly cause the grain to get 'less dry' and more prone to mold and deterioration. Crushed grain having more surface area is obviously more prone to deterioration.

Diastatic power is probably the most susceptible to deterioration. Not sure I would trust crushed base grain after a few months (maybe if there wasn't much specialty malt in the mash it would be OK). Whole grain if stored well, should be fine for 18 months, maybe a couple of years. Problem is; you can't measure diastatic power .... the longer you keep the grain, the greater you risk issues with conversion.

I'm sure there are tales of people who have kept sealed grain for 10+ years and brewed fine, but there are probably others where people using grain after a few years have been trying to figure out why their mash efficiency was low.

Specialty grain should last for years, crushed or whole since you are really only after the sugars and flavor.