How old is too old? Dark malts

Josh Hughes

Josh Hughes

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How long do you keep dark and roasted malts before tossing? I have some chocolate malt and pale chocolate malt that have been open for three years obviously, I do not use much in a batch, which is why it’s still there.
 
I think I would go by smell...

I got some malt I bought in small amounts, but don't/hardly use. I keep those in my freezer
 
Since dark and roasted malts are used in smaller amounts, I think they would have to be noticeably off (smell or taste bad) before they would negatively affect your beer. Even if they are a bit stale they would still impart the color or roastiness without imparting a stale flavor to the beer. Now stale base grains are another matter.

Note: All of the above are uneducated guesses.
 
as long as the moisture level is close, any grain that hasn't had some sort of mildew or moisture will survive years, for best results on any grain taste it before using
 
Ozarks Mountain Brewery said:
as long as the moisture level is close, any grain that hasn't had some sort of mildew or moisture will survive years, for best results on any grain taste it before using
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This.

Taste a few kernels. If they seem soft and chewy, I’d toss them. Firm and crunchy…then they should still be fine. I’d bet yours are still ok.
 
When they smell like cheese!

The Brülosophy guys did a 6 month test with no discernable difference and I've hear others, Denny and Drew maybe, claim a couple years. Briess has a good blog entry on this too. I've personally done 3 months milled and not refrigerated in a paper bag with no impact....to the beer that is...

https://www.brewingwithbriess.com/blog/a-day-in-the-shelf-life/
 
I have several darker malts that I have had for ages, I keep them in sealed containers at room temperature. I haven't found that they have deteriorated over time.
 
I have literally dozens of partially open poly bags of all kinds of different speciality malts, including several roasted malts, that I got before the pandemic. Quite a few I got a year or two before that. Some maybe even before that. I have wondered myself, to be honest. Even done one or two comparisons with some freshly bought roasted barley, chocolate and black malts. So far, I imagined an old batch of black malt gave a very subtle 'soy sauce' character that didn't balance well with an Irish Stout (London Porter, really). At least that's what I blamed it on, before dumping it, with much less than a kg left. My main observation, though, is how weevils sometimes found in (and then thrive in) base malts and flaked adjuncts don't like roasted malts.

Bonus: Yes, oxidation is going to be occurring slowly in these old malts regardless. Even if they were stored in airtight (O2-free) conditions. It's a fact of life on Earth. Something to do with the atmosphere being about 20% O2. Who'd have guessed? All living biological cells (therefore dead barely cells forming our malted grains, etc.) contain much more powerful oxidants than O2. It's not just a fact of life, it's an indication of life. Now, the same process is going on slowly in something like an ageing/maturing Imperial Stout. So, do old roasted malts speed up maturation of Imperial Stouts or what? Who knows? :cool:
 
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A dark Mild requires relatively little roasted malt, though. More to do with adding a bit a colour than anything else. More important is adding some dark invert, a combination of inverts, in fact, for flavour rather than colour. Depends on your expectations. It's 'mild' in the sense that it's not mature. Traditionally, quite high gravity. Something more like a 'Tally Ho'. If you're brewing a more modern Mild (low gravity), there's probably a better chance of detecting a subtle difference related to age of roasted malt used, but it won't be beer ruining, imho.
 
Same mild I always make. 4% of various dark and roasted malt. I use a few % of a few different ones. It’s not roasty. I used invert 2 last year but used it all and didn’t want to make any.
 
You can make English brewing invert in jiffy, even with your back to the wall on brew day. Just don't follow the ridiculous recipes posted online by most people who clearly have no idea how to make brewing inverts. We add an acid, like citric acid at about 2g per litre water, to lower the temperature required to promote inversion of sucrose to glucose and fructose. Heat water to about 90*C in a pan; turn off heat (no more heating required); stir in sucrose to dissolve in the hot water (I use half the water, by weight, of sugar used and adjust citric acid accordingly); add citric and stir well; add molasses (approx. 1%, 2.2% and 4.5% of sucrose weight, respectively) and stir until dissolved; leave to cool. That's it. Genuine English brewing invert. No need to boil the crap out of it. Above about 104*C, the fructose gets destroyed, which is not what we're looking for in an English brewing invert. It's about making the wort more fermentable. The 'luscious' flavour comes from the molasses. So simple. No idea why it needs to be complicated.
 
I meant, ‘add molasses (approx. 1%, 2.2% and 4.5% of sucrose weight, respectively, for invert #1, #2 and #3)’.
 
I have some grains that are going on about 10 years now. They are in zip lock bags in airtight containers. I use Gamma lids on a 5 gallon pail.
I just did a brew today with them and it went perfect. Make sure you smell and taste before to make sure it doesn't taste off at least.
 
McMullan said:
I have literally dozens of partially open poly bags of all kinds of different speciality malts, including several roasted malts, that I got before the pandemic. Quite a few I got a year or two before that. Some maybe even before that. I have wondered myself, to be honest. Even done one or two comparisons with some freshly bought roasted barley, chocolate and black malts. So far, I imagined an old batch of black malt gave a very subtle 'soy sauce' character that didn't balance well with an Irish Stout (London Porter, really). At least that's what I blamed it on, before dumping it, with much less than a kg left. My main observation, though, is how weevils sometimes found in (and then thrive in) base malts and flaked adjuncts don't like roasted malts.

Bonus: Yes, oxidation is going to be occurring slowly in these old malts regardless. Even if they were stored in airtight (O2-free) conditions. It's a fact of life on Earth. Something to do with the atmosphere being about 20% O2. Who'd have guessed? All living biological cells (therefore dead barely cells forming our malted grains, etc.) contain much more powerful oxidants than O2. It's not just a fact of life, it's an indication of life. Now, the same process is going on slowly in something like an ageing/maturing Imperial Stout our blog. So, do old roasted malts speed up maturation of Imperial Stouts or what? Who knows? :cool:
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If i Adding an acid, such as citric acid at approximately 2g per liter of water, lowers the temperature.
 
McMullan said:
You can make English brewing invert in jiffy, even with your back to the wall on brew day. Just don't follow the ridiculous recipes posted online by most people who clearly have no idea how to make brewing inverts. We add an acid, like citric acid at about 2g per litre water, to lower the temperature required to promote inversion of sucrose to glucose and fructose. Heat water to about 90*C in a pan; turn off heat (no more heating required); stir in sucrose to dissolve in the hot water (I use half the water, by weight, of sugar used and adjust citric acid accordingly); add citric and stir well; add molasses (approx. 1%, 2.2% and 4.5% of sucrose weight, respectively) and stir until dissolved; leave to cool. That's it. Genuine English brewing invert. No need to boil the crap out of it. Above about 104*C, the fructose gets destroyed, which is not what we're looking for in an English brewing invert. It's about making the wort more fermentable. The 'luscious' flavour comes from the molasses. So simple. No idea why it needs to be complicated.
Click to expand...
Interesting, I'll have to give it a go.
 
I buy dark malt in smaller quantities also the smallest package available. I'll often look through my inventory to decide on a recipe specifically to use up what I have. Like mentioned above I've been known to design a recipe with ingredients on hand. If I had 10 yr old malt I personally would toss. If I haven't used it up in ten years probably not going to. I wouldn't store crushed. The fresher the better. I actually roasted my own for my last ESB. It may not be bad when it gets old but its better fresh IMO
 
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