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How much time can milled grain sit before it needs to be brewed?

Wildrover

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I'm thinking about preparing my next batch to save time but I can't brew until my yeast gets here.  I live in the middle of nowhere (sort of) so I have to have things shipped.  I know its coming this week but I was thinking about milling today but I don't want to grind the grains and have them sit for a few days if its going to raise the potential for stale or lifeless beer. 
 
While I can't speak to how long crushed grain will stay fresh, I can say if you can wait to crush, wait. Kinda like coffee, if ya know what I mean.

Me? I'm firmly in the "Crush the morning of your brew day" camp. If I want to save time come brew day, I'll clean and sanitize all of my small-wares, the fermenter, and the valves on by pots, and lay everything out for the next morning - that's about it.
 
It isn't the time that grain is crushed, but the temperature and humidity that it is stored in. If milled malt could be stored at 60F in a 4% humidity environment, it wouldn't go slack any faster than unmilled malt.

But in the real world, we all have differing humidity's and storage conditions. Cracked malt wants to absorb moisture from the air and that degrades the enzymes. For moderate humidity of 30 to 40%, it will only take about 4 or 5 days for the enzymes to noticeably degrade. By that, I mean anywhere from 5% to 15% less efficiency.

This isn't the end of the world, though. You may be surprised at how many very popular breweries have to purchase milled malt and do so in one to three month volumes. Sometimes, those breweries take steps to modify the humidity of their silo.

I like Phlm63's analogy, though. It is kinda like coffee. You can never go wrong with milling your grain the day you brew.
 
brewfun said:
It isn't the time that grain is crushed, but the temperature and humidity that it is stored in. If milled malt could be stored at 60F in a 4% humidity environment, it wouldn't go slack any faster than unmilled malt.

But in the real world, we all have differing humidity's and storage conditions. Cracked malt wants to absorb moisture from the air and that degrades the enzymes. For moderate humidity of 30 to 40%, it will only take about 4 or 5 days for the enzymes to noticeably degrade. By that, I mean anywhere from 5% to 15% less efficiency.

This isn't the end of the world, though. You may be surprised at how many very popular breweries have to purchase milled malt and do so in one to three month volumes. Sometimes, those breweries take steps to modify the humidity of their silo.

I like Phlm63's analogy, though. It is kinda like coffee. You can never go wrong with milling your grain the day you brew.

I did not know that.  Learn something new everyday
 
I usually grind my grain a day or two in advance, just to shave a little time off the brew day. Never hurt anything that I could tell.
 
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