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Author Topic: Year old grains  (Read 5416 times)

Offline brewinhard

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Re: Year old grains
« Reply #15 on: October 31, 2015, 03:46:04 pm »
Am I missing something? Do grains lose something, specifications wise, over time?


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Yes.  They can go "slack" after awhile and become mealy (not as crisp/crunchy as before).  This can actually affect  efficiency negatively depending on how "slack" they are. 

I know some people really try to save money, but I look at it this way.  If I am spending 5-6 hrs brewing a batch of beer and use old ingredients (especially malt) and if the beer does not come out as good as it could have, then I will be more pissed I wasted the time, then the grains.  Therefore, I try to use the freshest ingredients when possible to give myself a "fighting" chance in making the best batch of beer I possibly can during that brew day.  Just my .02.

Offline gymrat

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Re: Year old grains
« Reply #16 on: October 31, 2015, 04:03:33 pm »
Once they have been crushed they do.
Ralph's Brewery
Topeka, KS

RPIScotty

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Re: Year old grains
« Reply #17 on: October 31, 2015, 04:10:15 pm »
The OP said they tasted fresh. So that takes care of taste. So you take a hit in efficiency. Not really a big deal right? What other negatives are there?


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Offline brewinhard

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Re: Year old grains
« Reply #18 on: October 31, 2015, 04:11:17 pm »
I can't imagine a batch of crushed grains (even vacuum sealed) tasting "fresh" after one year or more. 

Offline brewinhard

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Re: Year old grains
« Reply #19 on: October 31, 2015, 04:12:34 pm »
I'd probably cut some of the old malt with the new to use up the old over a few batches...

This is not a bad idea if one plans on brewing with those older grains. 

RPIScotty

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Re: Year old grains
« Reply #20 on: October 31, 2015, 04:13:16 pm »

I recently purchased some fresh and compared the two in terms of taste and texture and there was no perceptible difference. 




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Offline ultravista

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Re: Year old grains
« Reply #21 on: October 31, 2015, 07:45:55 pm »
Perhaps the exBEERiment boys can tell us  8)

RPIScotty

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Re: Year old grains
« Reply #22 on: October 31, 2015, 08:13:19 pm »
I just assume that if the grains taste good and efficiency isn't a concern that there is no downside.


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Offline majorvices

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Re: Year old grains
« Reply #23 on: November 01, 2015, 05:53:36 am »
Am I missing something? Do grains lose something, specifications wise, over time?


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Oxidation is also an issue. If they taste good, yes, they are still good to use. But you will lose some malt flavor and aroma and may even pick up some metallic flavors in oxidized grain. I'm not just pulling this out of my butt, this is all stuff I have dealt with for the last few years. I have given grain away to farmers that was 6 months old and started to taste flat in the finished beer.

RPIScotty

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Re: Year old grains
« Reply #24 on: November 01, 2015, 12:07:01 pm »

Am I missing something? Do grains lose something, specifications wise, over time?


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Oxidation is also an issue. If they taste good, yes, they are still good to use. But you will lose some malt flavor and aroma and may even pick up some metallic flavors in oxidized grain. I'm not just pulling this out of my butt, this is all stuff I have dealt with for the last few years. I have given grain away to farmers that was 6 months old and started to taste flat in the finished beer.

Understood. That was really the answer I was looking for. I wasn't busting balls. Just curious is all.


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Offline brewinhard

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Re: Year old grains
« Reply #25 on: November 01, 2015, 12:13:01 pm »
Am I missing something? Do grains lose something, specifications wise, over time?


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Oxidation is also an issue. If they taste good, yes, they are still good to use. But you will lose some malt flavor and aroma and may even pick up some metallic flavors in oxidized grain. I'm not just pulling this out of my butt, this is all stuff I have dealt with for the last few years. I have given grain away to farmers that was 6 months old and started to taste flat in the finished beer.

Thank you for putting it in better terms.  Either way, it is not worth brewing with old grains IMO. 

Offline HoosierBrew

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Re: Year old grains
« Reply #26 on: November 01, 2015, 12:22:36 pm »
Thank you for putting it in better terms.  Either way, it is not worth brewing with old grains IMO. 

+1.  Though we love it, brewing is time and effort. I'd rather spend the few bucks on fresh grain to be sure. Sort of the same thing as using old yeast - you might well make good beer. But you might not. Why not up your odds and buy fresh ?
Jon H.

Offline brewinhard

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Re: Year old grains
« Reply #27 on: November 01, 2015, 12:26:37 pm »
Ahhhhmmmmennnn....brother!

Offline klickitat jim

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Re: Year old grains
« Reply #28 on: November 01, 2015, 12:43:02 pm »
These kinds of questions are valid, and people should feel free to ask them. But whats wrong with stepping back for a minute and looking at the big picture. I assume most brewers are not trying to make a "just good enough" beer. I wouldn't mind if all of my beers were world class, and imagine thats true for most everyone. Old grain probably wont make you sick, but I cant imagine any world cup gold winning recipe calls for letting your grain sit around for a year. Sometimes I also wonder when folks debate at length the finer points like stirplate vortexes, but then kinda shrug "meh" and toss in some year old slack grain. Just sayin

RPIScotty

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Year old grains
« Reply #29 on: November 01, 2015, 05:42:55 pm »
These kinds of questions are valid, and people should feel free to ask them. But whats wrong with stepping back for a minute and looking at the big picture. I assume most brewers are not trying to make a "just good enough" beer. I wouldn't mind if all of my beers were world class, and imagine thats true for most everyone. Old grain probably wont make you sick, but I cant imagine any world cup gold winning recipe calls for letting your grain sit around for a year. Sometimes I also wonder when folks debate at length the finer points like stirplate vortexes, but then kinda shrug "meh" and toss in some year old slack grain. Just sayin

I think the point was that the OP said he bought new grains and the flavor difference between the old and new was not detectable.

I understand majorvices point, and in his application, with large amounts of crushed grain hanging around a brewery environment, there is going to be flavor impacts and oxidation to the grain. I now understand that and am better off having asked.

Yet if at the homebrew level, you have grain that has been crushed and sitting around and tastes good, imperceptible from fresh grain as the OP said, then not using it seem like a waste.

Am I understanding it correctly: good tasting grain and oxidation of that grain are independent of one another, i.e. It can taste great and be oxidized?


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« Last Edit: November 01, 2015, 05:47:50 pm by RPIScotty »