# Life Span On Crushed Malt



## Mercs Own (27/10/05)

Once the malts for a brew have been crushed what is the shelf life of those malts? And if you dont use them for a few weeks but they have kept dry etc is there any flavour concerns in using them when they are older?


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## Jye (27/10/05)

Link

I think a few weeks is pushing it, I have been told 2 days and as you said they must be kept dry.


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## Batz (27/10/05)

Mercs Own said:


> Once the malts for a brew have been crushed what is the shelf life of those malts? And if you dont use them for a few weeks but they have kept dry etc is there any flavour concerns in using them when they are older?
> [post="85985"][/post]​




We hear this question from time to time , usually I sit back and watch.

Really Mercs, I don't think anyone knows for sure , I've heared lots of things from weeks to months.
If stored as you say I am sure a few weeks to a month or two would be fine.

My opinion only , I have no experence in doing a comparison.

Batz


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## johnno (27/10/05)

The top blokes at Grain and Grape have told me about a week in the fridge is probably ok. But not anymore than that.
Some of the more experienced AGers would have a good idea.

johnno


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## warrenlw63 (27/10/05)

Merc.

In cooler weather I've had it sitting there for up to a fortnight crushed. Didn't seem to suffer for the experience.

Hotter and more humid weather would be a different proposition. Moisture/mould etc. would most likely play havoc with it. :unsure: 

Edit: spelling

Warren -


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## RobW (27/10/05)

http://byo.com/mrwizard/757.html


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## Mercs Own (27/10/05)

Thanks guys! and thanks for the link Rob.


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## delboy (27/10/05)

hi there mercs 

malted barley is quite a complex science in the sence that it is firstly germinated (so it sets a shoot ) or as they say is shot once this is done it then is roasted to a degree of its malting charecteristics that is required buy the malter .anyway you probably know this already the hardest part that you would betrying to do here is maintain a constant malt once crushed which is near impossable due to once the grain is split crush ect you have then increased the overall surface area of the grain causing it to break down further and loose it characteristics .
so once crush or milled best to use it asap but a week or two in a seald tub in a largering room should be ok but after that well its your call mate.

ps chris bath is a great dancer !

delboy


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## mikem108 (27/10/05)

You should see her up close.....mmm

Sorry about partial thread hijack


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## devo (27/10/05)

johnno said:


> The top blokes at Grain and Grape have told me about a week in the fridge is probably ok. But not anymore than that.
> Some of the more experienced AGers would have a good idea.
> 
> johnno
> [post="86002"][/post]​




Yeah, I was told the same by them as well and they do tend to know what they are on about.


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## mudsta (30/10/05)

Ive used crushed malt up to six months old with no problems at all. After it is crushed i store it in a plastic bag, push all the air out then twist it shut. I keep that bag in an air tight tub in a cool dark place. Been doing it that way for a couple of years.

The problem with crushed malt is that it is agroscopic (think thats the word) Which means it wants to draw in any moisture. If you keep it air tight and dry, i find that there is no difference in my effiency, flavour or beer shelf life.

Works for me. :beerbang:


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## Guest Lurker (30/10/05)

mudsta said:


> The problem with crushed malt is that it is agroscopic (think thats the word) Which means it wants to draw in any moisture. If you keep it air tight and dry, i find that there is no difference in my effiency, flavour or beer shelf life.
> 
> Works for me. :beerbang:
> [post="86963"][/post]​



Hygroscopic?


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## Darren (30/10/05)

mudsta said:


> Ive used crushed malt up to six months old with no problems at all. After it is crushed i store it in a plastic bag, push all the air out then twist it shut. I keep that bag in an air tight tub in a cool dark place. Been doing it that way for a couple of years.
> 
> The problem with crushed malt is that it is agroscopic (think thats the word) Which means it wants to draw in any moisture. If you keep it air tight and dry, i find that there is no difference in my effiency, flavour or beer shelf life.
> 
> ...




Mudsta,
If you are really living at Yorks and buying your malt crushed you should but a mill and crush it yourself. Would be a lot cheaper


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## Darren (30/10/05)

Could even buy one!


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## T.D. (31/10/05)

I was a little surprised to hear so many people recommend 2 weeks or less. I buy 25kg at a time of pale/pils malt, crushed, and that lasts me around 3 months. The only remotely negative effect I have ever noticed is that I got lower efficiency one time (only about 5% less) on the last bunch of grain in a batch, but that could be due to a million other reasons. Over 16 AG brews I have not really noticed any serious variation that could be attributed to the age of the grain. I plan to get a mill one day but my house is very small and space is at a premium so its a bit hard at the moment. I think the life span of crushed grain depends greatly on your climate etc (mainly referring to humidity). 

I had 500g of wheat malt that was almost a year old that I did finally bring myself to chuck out, but before I did I opened it up and had a smell - it smelt perfectly fresh, and pretty darn good actually! Who knows whether it would have been ok in a brew, it wasn't worth the risk just for 500g, but my sneaking suspicion is that it would have been fine!


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## peas_and_corn (31/10/05)

If you're buying that much, why are you buying it already crushed?


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## T.D. (31/10/05)

I don't have a mill. Not enough room for that kind of stuff where I live.


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## Stuster (31/10/05)

T.D. said:


> I plan to get a mill one day but my house is very small and space is at a premium so its a bit hard at the moment.



PnK
I think this is why he buys it crushed.  
Stuart


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## peas_and_corn (31/10/05)

Yeah, well, sometimes I skim read and miss important information like that.

Anyway, back to topic, what does affect the shelf life of crushed grain?


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## Ross (31/10/05)

peas_and_korn said:


> Yeah, well, sometimes I skim read and miss important information like that.
> 
> Anyway, back to topic, what does affect the shelf life of crushed grain?
> [post="87033"][/post]​



you answered your own question...read your first line


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## WillM (31/10/05)

I buy 1/2 bags of cracked malt and I was told it would last longer than it would take me to brew it.


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