Older malt

[RiverCityBrew]

I saw an earlier post about malt being aged for 1-3 months, but my question is malt that is significantly older than that. The brewing company I previously worked for was forced out of the building and we put everything in storage, that was september 2010. The grain was delivered in June 2010, and i have around 10,000#.
We are now reopening and using all the old equipment. My question is of course the malt. It is bulk malt that was pulled from the silo, then stored in "tote bags." The storage conditions were consistant and never reached above 75 degrees in the summer with low humidity. We are in the Northwest. We didn't have any rodent problems either. I have tried several home brew batches with the grain and they seem to taste good with no off flavors, but we all know that a 20bbl batch is a different story. Any ideas. Thanks

Cody Ragan
River City Brewing Company
Spokane, Washington

[nohandslance]

I can only speak about the Max length of storage of barley in order to maintain malting quality. With your storage conditions.
75 F @ 10% moisture = a kernel with even germination potential, will last for 1 year. Malt is <5 percent, maybe it will work.
If you have access to a moisture meter get a reading. Insure you have no insect infestation.
I would be hesitant to do full batches with this malt, why not blend it with fresher malt. a 10-15% ratio until it is gone. Send some samples.

Lance
Rebel Malting Co.
Reno, Nevada USA

[RiverCityBrew]

I can only speak about the Max length of storage of barley in order to maintain malting quality. With your storage conditions.
75 F @ 10% moisture = a kernel with even germination potential, will last for 1 year. Malt is <5 percent, maybe it will work.
If you have access to a moisture meter get a reading. Insure you have no insect infestation.
I would be hesitant to do full batches with this malt, why not blend it with fresher malt. a 10-15% ratio until it is gone. Send some samples.

Lance
Rebel Malting Co.
Reno, Nevada USA

Lance,
How much malt do you need to run the tests, how long do they take, and what is the cost of having this done?

[nohandslance]

The meters are small hand held units, Farmex MT-16, I have one on the combine to take quick accurate readings of the moisture % of the grain, Less than 30 seconds using a hand full of kernels. However, I would contact Davidson Commodities on Division St. in Spokane, 509.487.0755. They most likely have one and might run a test on your grain.
Congrats on getting your brewery out of mothballs. Keep us updated on your progress, send some pictures.
Lance
Rebel Malting Co.
Reno, Nevada USA
775.997.6411