how long will crushed grains be usable?

hoboscratch · Post by **hoboscratch** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 9:16 am

Not sure if this is the right spot for this question, but I had a scheduled brewday back in Dec that I had canceled. I had gone through the task of crushing my grains the night before. I probably won't be brewing again until sometime in Feb so that will put it at about 2 months since the grains were crushed to mash in. Think these will still be good to go or should I crush some more? I'm doing a Belgian Wit that calls for 4.5lbs of pale malt and 4.5lbs of flaked wheat, so really i'm only looking at the 4.5lbs. That's not a huge loss to me if I have to toss it. Its being stored in a tied plastic bag in my basement, along with my other grain. Thoughts?

brownbeard · Post by **brownbeard** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 9:53 am

I would use it.

Derek · Post by **Derek** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 10:33 am

Taste 'em.

As long as they don't taste stale they should be OK.

If you've got any extra freezer space I'd put throw your grain in until you can use it.

DrPaulsen · Post by **DrPaulsen** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 10:55 am

I have no practical experience with this and there is only one way to find out for sure, but I would think the risk here is pretty low.

First of all, plenty of all-grain brewers order their grains pre-crushed from homebrew shops. Since I've not heard of too many people complaining on forums about crushed grains going stale and ruining their beer, I would guess this isn't a big problem.

Second, you're talking about the equivalent of some grain husks and un-ground flour sitting around. What's going to go wrong with them? Have you ever had a bag of flour go stale? The only problems I've ever had along those lines are related to bugs, not oxygen.

Third, it's not as if uncracked grain is stored in oxygen impermeable bags, nor are grain husks airtight. It seems highly unlikely to me that whatever oxygen-based staling reactions are taking place could be so dramatically accelerated by the crushing process as to make them go bad in a couple of months when uncrushed grain is perfectly fine for a year or more.

What's the worst that could happen? If you brew it and it tastes terribly stale, just throw a party and pass it out after everyone is good and drunk.

hoboscratch · Post by **hoboscratch** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 10:58 am

In that case I'll just bring it to the meetings and start passing it out around 10pm or so!

tompb · Post by **tompb** » Tue Jan 25, 2011 6:02 pm

If your concerned put it in the frig. Crushed grain will stale faster then whole, but whole grain will last a year or better. Stored sealed, cool, and dry crushed grain should last a few months at least.

hoboscratch · Post by **hoboscratch** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 8:29 am

I tossed it in the fridge last night just to ease my troubled mind.

tompb · Post by **tompb** » Fri Jan 28, 2011 8:20 pm

Good move. It won't hurt it any.