Grain question

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Toad

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Today my local home brew shop gave me 1kg of lager grains (copper tun) for free to get rid of them as they were apparently out of date.
I have them in my fridge but would like to use them asap. I am very inexperienced and can only do kit and kilo ales.
How should I use them and in what ale? Or just turf em?
I have been meaning to steep some crystal to try in my kits but dunno what this "lager" grain is.
Any input appreciated.
 
If I were you I would do a mini mash. Are they crushed?

Lager sounds like a pilsner base malt.
 
your hbs can't tell you what it is?? i'd ask them again.

how dark is it? i think all grain darker than pale will have some steeping qualities. (stand corrected if not so). but some pale grains also steep eg cara amber or carapils.
what does it smell like eg delicious sweet, slightly dry, no strong smell in any direction, slightly acrid?? that will steer you into the grain category. and if it smells like stale flour, i'd ditch, cos that will go through your beer. but if it smells stale first up, have a 2nd smell a few minutes after you've taken the lid off. sometimes that is just trapped stale air, and with a bit of fresh air, the grain will smell rosy again.
they need to be stored in a dry cool place, fridge is not always dry. in a dark cupboard would be better.
i assume they've been milled. if they are, i'd use them straight up as a steeping grain, whether crystal or not. the reason i say that is that milled grain has a short life, and one way or another, it will get you into steeping grains. if they're not steeping grains, they won't ruin your beer. if they are, then you'll lift your kit big time.
oh - just saw the 'lager' bit. if it's lager grains, probably either pils or a pale ale malt, and both need mashing. i'd suggest a steeping mash (no such thing technically).
that means steeping it for an hour at as close to 63-68C as you can keep it. it should in any event lift the flavour a lot.
if you do that, remember to boil it for another hour, partly to knock out the nasties and partly for flavour improvement.
so yeah - steep (mash) for an hour
drain fluid (wort)
pour 72C ish water through grain to flush more goodies out and add to drained wort.
boil all drained wort for an hour.
add to kit.
 
Butisitart.
Thanks mate. It's a vac sealed bag so I can't smell them but I'm guessing light malt. I will smash em with a rolling pin and steep as directed in a coopers pale ale. See what happens.
Thanks heaps for the info dump.
So crack 300g
Steep in 65 degree water for an hour.
Strain water into pot with malt and boil for another hour. Then follow my usual kit procedure.
Sounds good.
 
Rolling pin might not do the job, do you have a mortar and pestle? Also a coffee grinder or even a blender should make a dent in them.
 
Did the brew today. Bloody shit job with a rolling pin. Ended up doing 300g just to make sure at least 200g were crushed. Smelt great though, very caramel/vanilla flavour.
Used Galaxy and willamette hops also. Pretty excited about this brew.
Used us05 and 18 degrees.
 
start saving.
you'll be shopping for all-grain gear about 2 stubbies into this brew :kooi:

caramel vanilla??? maybe you got some pale crystal malt which is great for killing homebrew taste, or maybe carapils, doesn't do a lot on flavour but will thicken the head. both those grains are pretty pale to look at.
 
Jibba02. Just took em out of the fridge now. They were in there since Thursday.
Why? What does the cold do to them? They were in an air tight bag...
 
These local home brew shops are evil bastards they give you a taste of fresh grain to get you hooked to buy all-grain gear .
 
Toad said:
Jibba02. Just took em out of the fridge now. They were in there since Thursday.
Why? What does the cold do to them? They were in an air tight bag...
No such thing as a air tight plastic bag. The grains will pickup moisture frome the fridge. It is also advisable to store the grain above 10 degrees c.
 
as i understand it, the only time to throw grain at the fridge is actually at the freezer for an overnighter to get rid of weevils.
can't answer as to what damage that might do to the grain, but it definitely damages weevils.
my lhbs uses that technique, apparently, so if it's in and back out, probably no harm done to the grain.
 

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