I am thinking about buying bulk grain and milling it myself. I just wanted to see if anyone had any suggestions on what I should store my grains in and how long will they last before I must use them.

Thanks!

Happy Brewing!

Dave

I have been doing this for a while now, if you consider 55lb bags bulk (as opposed to an entire pallet). If stored properly (away from heat, moisture and bugs) there should be no problem keeping the grain for 6+ months. If you start getting close to these limits, it is time to brew more frequently, or brew larger batches.

I keep bags of 2-row, Maris Otter and Pilsner in a black garbage can in my basement, and have had no staling problems yet. Though maybe a better palate would disagree. I try to brew enough to use the bags within 2 months, which is surprisingly easy. There are really only 5-8 batches of beer in each bag (5 gallon batches). I really like not having to remember to buy base malt at the store, which makes me feel like the beer only costs the price of the specialty grains and occasional yeast.

I keep mine in cool, dry storage as well. I try to keep it off the ground (up on a shelf or in a container on the floor) and closed. The shelf life should be 1-1.5 years in these conditions, slightly less for grain that has been milled already. Cheers!

I keep on hand a bag of briess 2 row and maris otter in 2 large pet containers that hold 60lb each. I keep them right with the pet food so they are at room temperature pretty much. My LHBS said they'd store 6+ months easy though I use them up way before that.

I keep sacks of pils and marris otter. When I have the end of a sack and no where to brew with it I vac seal it with the food saver in 5# increments. Works great and reduces the footprint for storage. Foodsaver rules.

+1 for me, in Colorado where my basement is cool and extremely dry. Philadelphia might be a different story. I've heard much less for milled grain, but I don't mill until the day I'm going to use it, or possibly one or two days before.

I am also beginning to buy my grains in bulk. I plan to keep them in the bag they came in up off the floor and in a dry cool area of my basement. Being in Michigan I have a little bit of humidity to deal with but so far so good. I have Breiss 2 row and would like to also have Weyerman Munich, Floor Malted Pils, and Veinna on hand, but I'll have to wait and see how much I consume. I have to say it is great to walk into your basement and have the smell of malted grain waiting for you.

I started doing the same about 1-2 years ago. Originally I was looking into 6-7+ gallon buckets with sealable lids (a 55 lbs bag fits into ~2 buckets). However, I was very lucky to find a local guy selling shipping containers for PTFE powder(i.e. Teflon). There air tight, can hold a sack of grain (sack and all - no need to pour the grains out), and are incredibly convenient. We just washed them out with soap and water (in case there was any residual) and now I've got 5-6 in my basement holding sacks of Pilsner, 2-Row, White Wheat, and Munich Malt.

You'll need to hunt around for them, but if you can find them, grab 'em.

-Okt