[flbrewer]

How long is crushed grain (2-row) considered fresh if stored in an airtight container?

[morticaixavier]

a few weeks. keep it frozen, really, really, frozen so no condensation can form, maybe a few months.

[klickitat jim]

I still buy into the 'fresh ground coffee is better' idea. But in malts it is probably more true for roasts, aromatics, crystals etc, than it is for base malts.

But on my very first all grain batch I milled everything at home with a Victory hand cranker. I only buy unmilled.

[erockrph]

The sooner you can use it the better, but a few weeks up to a month or two is fine. Specialty grains tend to do better over time than base malts.

[a10t2]

Definitely at least a month. Beyond that it just depends on ambient conditions; moisture is the enemy. I wouldn't put it in a high-humidity environment like a fridge or freezer.

[dmtaylor]

Think of it like cereal.  Like corn flakes or wheaties.  Open the bag of corn flakes, then leave sit for a couple weeks.  Still good?  Yeah, if the bag is curled up nicely and it's not too humid.  Soon as humidity gets in there, it messes up the flavor.  Might take a month or two before things start tasting odd.  But if you left the bag wide open then you are just asking for it to go stale.  So, pack it up well and keep it dry and it will keep fine for a few weeks.

[majorvices]

I've had grain sit crushed and sealed for a year in un-air-conditioned warehouse type environment that was still fine. I'm sure it lost some of it's aroma and possibly there was some oxidation damage but it made good beer none-the-less. Honestly it smelled and tasted like it had just been crushed when I opened it. That said, I prefer to use it ASAP. At YHB we are currently ordering all our malt pre-milled and I try to use it within 6 weeks. But it stays on brewery floor, not climate conrolled.

FYI: Refrigerators are low humidity environments and should be fine for storing crushed grain. But room temp is fine.

[a10t2]

FYI: Refrigerators are low humidity environments and should be fine for storing crushed grain. But room temp is fine.

Maybe I should have said high *relative* humidity… For a few hours after opening the door, the actual water vapor content is going to be about the same as the outside air. But that means the outside RH only has to be about 30% in order for the RH inside to reach 100% and start forming condensation.

[jmsetzler]

Your best friend would be a vacuum sealer.  When I have leftover grains (uncrushed) I store them in vacuum seal bags and toss them in my fridge.  I will keep them for up to a year, but they rarely last that long.  I'll toss small amounts of leftover grains in other brews just to use them.

Even with crushed grains, a vacuum sealed bag and storing it in the fridge would be a good idea.  I'd not store them in the freezer, but that's just me.

[S. cerevisiae]

A roller mill is an investment that many brewers are hesitant to make; however, I have yet to meet an all-grain brewer who is not glad he/she did so after the sting of the purchase has faded.  There are several nice mills that can be had for under $150.00 shipped.  If you are patient, you may be able to pick up a used pre-adjusted Schmidling Malt Mill for under $75.00.  Those mills are good for several tons of grain.

[ynotbrusum]

A roller mill is an investment that many brewers are hesitant to make; however, I have yet to meet an all-grain brewer who is not glad he/she did so after the sting of the purchase has faded.  There are several nice mills that can be had for under $150.00 shipped.  If you are patient, you may be able to pick up a used pre-adjusted Schmidling Malt Mill for under $75.00.  Those mills are good for several tons of grain.

And Schmidling also makes an adjustable mill!  I love mine.

[erockrph]

A roller mill is an investment that many brewers are hesitant to make; however, I have yet to meet an all-grain brewer who is not glad he/she did so after the sting of the purchase has faded.  There are several nice mills that can be had for under $150.00 shipped.  If you are patient, you may be able to pick up a used pre-adjusted Schmidling Malt Mill for under $75.00.  Those mills are good for several tons of grain.

Agreed! You certainly don't need a grain mill to get started in all-grain, but I'd highly recommend it as your first upgrade. My efficiencies were all over the place until I started milling my own grain. Plus, you can start to buy grain in bulk. Outside of a couple of liquid yeast packs, I haven't had to buy any brewing ingredients at all this year - I've just been using up my stockpiles.

[dmtaylor]

In an economic pinch, you can also use your blender to "crush" the grains.  Yes, you heard me right.  I did it for YEARS.  http://forum.northernbrewer.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=67843&p=622858&hilit=blender#p622858