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poggor

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Im thinking of stopping ordering grain for each recipe and getting some supply. What grains do people think i should have on hand? what are the most versatile?
Obviously some kind of pale base malt? like a pilsner?... and then?.......
suggestions appreciated.

g
 
Some MO definitely, maybe some Munich or Vienna.
 
Such an opened ended question :)

Do you have a mill?

This is my opinion only. Pilsner malt is a good base to have around. You can make a good pilsner with it (surprise surprise) and good ales with some other malts. Not so if you only have ale malt base.

What I have is Pils, ale and wheat in bulk. Then about 1-5kg of various specialties, such as med crystal, dark crystal, choc and roast. I also keep a fair whack of vienna. You'll even find small amounts of rye, oats, caraamber, caraaroma and rice if you dig deep enough in my grain bins

So, unless you have a mill and airtight / rodent proof containers, keeping lots of grain is painful. Cracked grain slackens faster than whole.

So, versatile? Dark crystal. A little goes a long way for flavour and colour.
Everything has its place though, so youll need lots of different grains!
 
I agree, keeping them pest free can be a pain in the arese if you dont have good storage...
Im similar to mckenry, I always buy my spec grains in 5kg lots and have bulk supply of base malts + wheat.
 
I usually roll with MO and trad ale in bulk.
Wheat and crystals in smaller lots.
I keep the base malts in my old 30L plastic fermenters. A 25kg sack just overfills the fermenter but the rest stays in the bag and gets used up quickly.
 
Hey poggor,

The first issue is what sort of beers will you be brewing? If you want to try anything, are there a few styles you might be focusing on a bit more?
And how much do you want to spend?
How much can you store?

I made a similar move ~1yr ago (then finally got my mill 3 mo's later - a painful wait!).
I also had similar questions, with the answer to my 1st question being kinda anything so i wanted to cover my options. This was also done as part of a Bulk Buy, so i went a bit overboard loading up on "bargains" (like i'll be needing all of 5kgs of Midnight Wheat over the next 20yrs!). Basically i went to the further end of versatility. You might not want that much to start with.

I went with something very similar to mckenry -
a bag of Maris Otter (seemed best for an Ale malt option),
a bag of Bohemian Pils (from Weyermann, seemed best for pils - still don't know on this),
then a 1/2 bag of wheat (i use a little to a lot in most beers),
1/2 bag of Vienna (pretty much not used, but that's just the recipes i've done so far - i should get around to it soon ... faux lagers & sparkling ales!),
1/2 bag of Munich 2 (somewhat excessive, but 5kgs would've been fine - a bit of Munich goes into so many things),
& 1/2 bag of Victory (great malt, but a little goes a long way).
I then went 5kgs into each of pale, Med, & dark crystal, CaraAroma, CaraBohemian, Chocolate, & Midnight wheat.

Now, in summary, i'd repeat the full bags of MO (going to try TF Floor Malted MO, or TFFMMO for those in the know ;) i'm told it's better than the simpsons), the boh pils, & the 1/2 bag of Wheat. The wheat could def be somewhat less - you could go for 5kgs unless you're brewing wheat beers etc soon. I brew more deeper/darker ales so the boh pils is a bit less important, but i've done a few varieties where the pils was needed, so after 1yr i've actually got a similar amount of each left.
All/Most of the specs i could've gotten 1-2kgs instead. Not too many recipes need more than 300g of a spec, and normally it might be 300-400g in total specs. i'd probably go the 2kg option. Except Midnight wheat or Black patent or Roast Barley - 1kg is truckloads. Munich i'd go 5kg.

That is how it's worked out for me, given the dozen or so beers i've brewed over the last 12 months. Your needs will obviously be different, but it hopefully gives you a decent illustration to go by.

Storage is *super* important. Mice = bad. Also it takes up a fair bit of space once you have 50-100kg of grain sitting in the house. Airtight containers are also best for general long-term storage purposes.

If you needed a cut-down version:
1 - bag of MO or another ale malt
2 - bag of Pils (only if you want an extra full bag) - adds versatility
3 - 5 kg wheat
4 - 3-5kg Munich
5 - 2kg of (each?) crystal - i do 3 crystal splits (so 300g med crystal becomes 75/150/75 pale/med/dark) but it's not necessary.
6 - 2 kg Biscuit/Victory - adds good aromatics
7 - 1kg something dark, i.e.: Black/Midnight/Roast barley

The other things like CaraAroma, CaraBoh, Chocolate, Vienna i'd suggest may or may not be relevant depending on exactly what you'll brew. Chocolate seems pretty common in recipes but i've just not used it yet. CaraAroma i've used in a few recipes, like Red Ales, so it's been a better choice for me.

While i clearly went a bit crazy on the malt purchases, i really love the fact i can dream up a recipe, wander into the spare room and measure out the grains at 11pm ready to brew the next day. No running to shops required! I kinda think if i have to go to the shops for 100g of something, i might as well have gotten the whole lot from the shops and have no grain stored at home. Bit extreme but it works for me.

Hope that overly long answer helps.
 
Maris Otter or Golden Promise, Wyerman (.sp?) Pilsner or Best Maltz Pilsner, Wyerman Wheat & Munich are all things I like to buy in sack quantities through bulk buys or the like. Everything else in 500gm lots stored in airtight tubs, and I have a shit-load of them and I still have 500gm bags lying around that I don't have containers for yet!
 
If you have a vacume sealer (awesome investment) its a great way to store some of those not-so-often malts (smoked for example). Usually if i need an odd malt ill still buy around 1kg even if i only need 300g or so because you never know when i cracking recipe might pop in your head and you need it again.
Thats where the vac sealer comes in, shit will last years in vac bags if stored correctly.
I do the same with my hops, i only ever buy in 250-500g lots, vac seal and put those bad boys in the freezer.
Its all a money saving thing for me but the big bonus is a wide variety within arms reach.
 
wow you guys! thanks for the awesome replies. technobabble- love the details! thanks for taking the time.

I will get a 25kg bag of MO, a 25kg bag of pilsner, maybe 10kg of wheat (i like hefes) and then some 5kg bags, maybe vienna, crystals, and some midnight.
I also have a vacuum sealer so that should be good!

....and a mill!!!

g
 
Don't forget acidulated malt for the wheats and pils. 1-2kg should do it.

Thomas Fawcett Roast Barley I have a kg of sealed up nicely...

And Weyermann Carafa Special 1, a kg of this too.


The answer really depends on your batch size, frequency etc. I would personally buy Vienna (Weyermann) in bulk and have a couple of kg of Munich II rather than a few kg of Munich I.
 
Awesome. and any sealed bucket or similar should keep the rodents out right?
 
poggor said:
Awesome. and any sealed bucket or similar should keep the rodents out right?
You really need a screwed lid. Rats will chew through the top of a floppy lid fairly easily. Will be ok for a while but when you notice a chewed hole they have probably already crawled all over your grain
 
Go metal bin over plastic if rodents are likely.

Bunnings has a 75l bin for $40. I put some Clarke rubber neoprene sticky stuff around the lid to keep cocky's etc out.

Millmaster mills are stainless, geared, and seem pretty good. Few sponsers stock them. Get a handle too or look at motors. mmmmm bit of searchin time there
 
By the way you should be right to throw the 1-2kg quantities in a container from Coles, with a seal ring around the lid.
 
Be clean mate. If you spill any grain sweep it up straight away. The smell of malted grain will attract rodents from far and wide, like a randy mongrel to a bitch on heat. They'll descend on your place like a plague.

Its easy when measuring out the grain bill to think those few grains that dropped on the floor don't matter. Well they probably don't as regards your recipe, but they will send fireworks into the sky attracting pests.

Metal containers are better than plastic for storing grain, but I reckon the cause of rodent problems for many people is that they leave the stuff lying around.
 
+1 to feldon. Keep it all clean.

Agree strongly w Adr_0.
I actually got Munich 2, not 1, & I think I've noticed a worthwhile difference.
Definitely, definitely get a kg (or maybe 2) of acidulated. It's the one really important thing I didn't initially get and have definitely needed in every brew. 100-150g into most recipes guarantees you'll be in the ballpark of the "right" pH. (It's somewhat more complicated than that, but it's a reasonable starting point, I believe. Get the EZ water profile spreadsheet for further brain smashing).

I'd say a basic grain mill will do the job fine.
A geared one is *definitely* significantly better, but also costs a fair bit more. Depends how tight you are with cash. I couldn't justify the extra $100-$150(?), so I got the basic. So far so good.
Apparently the geared one tears up the hulls a lot less (?) so it makes for a better grain bed when mashing & sparging. I'm guessing if you BIAB it mightn't be as important.
 
Speaking of Best Maltz I just got 25kgs of it like Frazer John suggested above
But for APAs still like the Ale malt pommy bitters as well
Love Munchen (munich malt) you gotter have that and also ?????
The list goes on as for rodents screw the bag tight never had a problem
 
always keep some one kill rat poison open around the place. they will eat that first and will be dead before getting to the grain.

and get some bottles if u keg. when u have too much specialty that may get old, it's RIS and barley wine time.
 

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