To old to use?

[puttster]

I have some malted barley and some toasted crystal(?) and a half bag of hops that have been around for a while, 6-12 months. Is there a way to check to see if they are still good for brewing?

 

[billl]

Unmilled grain keeps quite well if it's cool and dry. Take a taste and you'll see if its still fine.

Hops store poorly even under ideal conditions - ie freezing temps and vacuum sealed. If they still smell good, you can use them.... but, they could be only 50% of the listed AA% at this point.

 

[puttster]

the Fuggles smelled musty, a little like my son's clothes hamper.

 

[puttster]

Unmilled grain keeps quite well if it's cool and dry. Take a taste and you'll see if its still fine.
.

I finished off the grain. Smelled ok, we'll see how the beer turns out.
I went to my local store (DeFalco's) and got 10 pounds of 2-row to grind myself. I asked the salesman how long did I have before it was no good and he said, "one month!" I didn't expect that.

 

[day_trippr]

[...]I went to my local store (DeFalco's) and got 10 pounds of 2-row to grind myself. I asked the salesman how long did I have before it was no good and he said, "one month!" I didn't expect that.

As well you shouldn't. The bags of grain we buy are likely 6 months to a year old already...

Cheers!

 

[jbunton]

If the hops smell cheesy or like feet do not use them.

 

[RM-MN]

First order of business on old grains is a sniff test. If they smell bad, your beer will be bad.
Second is the taste test if the grains passed the sniff test. if they taste bad, dump them.
Third test is to brew with them.

I've brewed with malted barley that I've kept in the bag for 2 years and it might have been a year old when I bought it. Barley is harvested one a year, usually in September or October. Then it might be in a bin for months before being malted and bagged. Bags would go to a warehouse for a while, then to the retailer who might put some in storage until demand is there for them. Lots of delays from field to your beer.

 

[Rockn_M]

I've had a bag of grains sit for almost a year. And it turned out fine. If anything smells off or funky don't use it.

 

[mashinary]

the Fuggles smelled musty, a little like my son's clothes hamper.

Could just be because they're Fuggles... Not a fan.

 

[day_trippr]

the Fuggles smelled musty, a little like my son's clothes hamper.

Clearly this batch should be named "Teen Spirit"

Cheers!

 

[kh54s10]

Hops smell different from type to type. Though those were probably bad.

The advice that the grains (unmilled) would only be good for a month is either just bad or the salesman was looking for another sale.
Almost all of my grains are in that 6-12 months age. That is after whatever age they had before I bought them.

 

[brewcat]

Even milled grains will keep longer than a month.