Milled Grain Storage

[MIWI]

I do not have a grain mill so when I buy grain at the homebrewing store I will buy for a couple of batches and mill it and vacuum package for use a month or two down the road. I was told that milled grain looses it's flavor if not used within a few weeks. Anyone have any opinions?

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

You mentioned that you vacuum seal the grains, so you should be OK for a couple of months (likely longer). There is some additional information at Briess's web site (link). Apparently some commercial brewers (link) will order their malts pre-milled.

 

[day_trippr]

Vac-bagged and kept dark and cool is the best possible treatment for crushed grains.
That said, I wouldn't push it more than a few weeks...

Cheers!

 

[Sammy86]

I've only done this once...bought my milled grain and the wife went into labor three weeks early! So obviously no Brewing for about month...grains were still good and hit all expected numbers...don't know if I'd go any longer though unless vac sealed like said above.

 

[MIWI]

Thanks for the replies.

 

[tracer bullet]

For coffee (I'm an espresso guy), fresh beans give way more crema than beans that are a couple weeks old. I can buy fresh beans that are vacuum packed, store them in the freezer for a month or more, and when I take them out they still give good crema for a few weeks almost as if they'd never been stored at all. Long story short - vacuum sealing and keeping frozen works for coffee, I suspect it'll work for grains as well.