Using older grains to brew with

[smdbrewer]

Good afternoon,
General question, recent all grain brew I did, the grains used were roughly 6-9 months since purchased, Does this effect the efficiency of the brew?
Missed my target O.G.of 1.065 by a considerable amount 1.037 @70F.
System used: Brewzilla

Mash was held for 1Hr
Fly sparge was also done over 1Hr.

Thank you

 

[philjohnwilliams]

Good afternoon,
General question, recent all grain brew I did, the grains used were roughly 6-9 months since purchased, Does this effect the efficiency of the brew?
Missed my target O.G.of 1.065 by a considerable amount 1.037 @70F.
System used: Brewzilla

Mash was held for 1Hr
Fly sparge was also done over 1Hr.

Thank you

Were the grains crushed at the time of purchase or did you crush right before brewing? Either way the age of the grain probably isn't the issue, I think Brulosophy had an experiment that used grain that had been crushed years before and there wasn't a significant impact on efficiency. My own experience with older (2-3 months) crushed grain is that it'll brew fine if kept dry. I would suspect the quality of the crush is the culprit here

 

[smdbrewer]

Grains were crushed as time of purchase, I really didn't look to hard when I got them, but now that I think about it, it didn't seem very crushed when I added.

 

[Donoroto]

Crush has a big influence on it. Age, not as much.

 

[Zambi]

The only time I had issues was when weevils decided they liked malted grains.
And with my maris otter that smellled like it was fermenting.
But generally, no issues, even with grains that were a couple years old

 

[Over The Cliff Brewing]

I agree that the crush is your culprit.

 

[J A]

Just the other day, I composted an entire bag of pilsner malt and over a half bag of Maris Otter that had been sitting in my garage for several years. Last time I brewed was late '21, I think, so it was there for a while. I assumed that it would all be full of bugs but it wasn't. I was more concerned with intense heat. Texas summers have been extra hot and it's easy for that space to get up to 100 degrees during the day. I tasted both malts and actually they weren't noticeably off-flavored. I just couldn't bring myself to put in the labor brewing and have the beer taste nasty because I was too cheap to buy new grain.

 

[Zambi]

I've had grains in storage for over a year in a 20 foot container. That included summertime with temperatures if over 40 °C outside. Inside must have been hotter!
I used the grain, simply because it is difficult for me to get it. Obviously I smelled first

 

[Ward Chillington]

I've had grains in storage for over a year in a 20 foot container. That included summertime with temperatures if over 40 °C outside. Inside must have been hotter!
I used the grain, simply because it is difficult for me to get it. Obviously I smelled first

AND??? @Zambi ! Don't leave us hanging...how did the batch turn out?

@philjohnwilliams is right, Brulosophy did do a measured study on this very question and adding insult to injury, the grains were purposely stored in a careless manner in a hot garage in a paper bag rolled up in a plastic bag.....maybe a trash can liner bag? I think it was 18 months? This was against a control batch with a "fresh" grainbill and their triangle test had no discernable difference as they say. So @smdbrewer , I'd review your notes, recipe and process. I'm not the most familiar with the GF other than hearing that folks that use them, love them. Was the grainbill's weight right?

 

[Daniel Parshley]

Weevils are endemic and will get into any grain so we keep wheat flour, corn meal, and brewing grains in the freezer. The weevils even get into deer corn and bird seed so we buy these just before use. Anyone else freeze your brewing grains and extracts?

 

[Ward Chillington]

Weevils are endemic and will get into any grain so we keep wheat flour, corn meal, and brewing grains in the freezer. The weevils even get into deer corn and bird seed so we buy these just before use. Anyone else freeze your brewing grains and extracts?

yeast and hops are in the Bierstube fridge....I'm not a bulk grain buyer but for flour and sugar that I store bulk in 5 gallon buckets with Gamma lids seems to keep thing's fresh and bug free

 

[Zambi]

AND??? @Zambi ! Don't leave us hanging...how did the batch turn out?

Absolutely fine.

Some for my protein enriched beers (weevil invested) when I upped the calculated amount by about 25 %

 

[Ward Chillington]

Absolutely fine.

Some for my protein enriched beers (weevil invested) when I upped the calculated amount by about 25 %

Lol...got a little protein haze.....I see you opted to make the choice of use it to make beer or toss it......truly the lesser "weevil"...

 

[Donoroto]

Lol...got a little protein haze.....I see you opted to make the choice of use it to make beer or toss it......truly the lesser "weevil"...

They don’t have a “groan” emoji, but if they did…