Malt shelf life

[Chuckyb]

Found that I have left quite an assortment of malts stored over the past few years. All have been stored in a dry cellar and range in age from 1 to 3 years. I would appreciate any information regarding the effects of prolonged storage on diverse malts.

[RobZamites]

Loss of moisture and possibly amylase activity, along with molds and general funkiness. I, personally, wouldn't use it.

My $0.02
Rob

[Dave Suds]

Depends on storage invironment

If you´ve had the malt stored in cool, dark and dry storage with even temperatures and the malt bags have not been opened It will store well up to two years perhaps a bit longer depending......
Open the bags and check them!
I hate to throw away anything!
Good luck
David Meadows

[scott isham]

Old malt will absorb moisture from the air, or become "slack". The malt is relatively dry in relation to the surronding air. There could be problems grinding the malt, slight conversion problems and the possibility of haze in the final product. I'm not sure how you could really tell before hand if the malt is OK. Maybe try milling a small amount to see how that works. If it was stored in a dry area it may be just fine.

Cheers,
Scott

[liammckenna]

Malt will indeed, eventually go 'slack' (loss of enzymic activity) over time but does store extremely well under the right conditions. Try weighing a few bags to see if they've picked up significant moisture. ie. a 50lb sack at specification of 4% moisture would weigh 50.5lb at 5%, 51 lb at 6% etc. Assumes sacking at maltster was accurate which you can usually count on. Moisture can also lead to mold activity. Aside from gross flavour implications, aflatoxin(s)(nasty, nasty) are a real concern.

If you think your conditions are good, I would consider using this malt alongside 'fresh' malt to use it up. I would also carefully inspect each and every bag myself, splitting the bag longitudinally, evaluating aroma, physical appearance and feel, any sign of 'lumping' or grains 'sticking' to each other and I would discard it. If I encountered more than one bag I might consider getting rid of all of it.

If it is moldy, you really shouldn't give it to non-ruminant livestock even so if your local farmer taking away spent grains is into pigs or horses you may wish to show him/her what you're talking about before they take it away.

Good luck.

Pax.

Liam

[nohandslance]

If you have the "darker' malts, Chocolate, Roasted Barley, Special B, C_60-100, I would not hesitate to use these, If you need extract out of your grains I think they will be lacking. I agree with the above posts, on the Pale and Lighter grains and off flavors associated. Or you can just mash away, and call it a "Rustic Farmhouse Product" people love this.
Send some samples
Lance@JergensenBrewing

[gitchegumee]

Long before you will see clumps and visible signs of mold, the grain will be soft and chewy rather than crisp and crunchy. Also, when mashing, the pH will drop dramatically with slack malt even before you lose any enzymatic activity or notice any visual change to the malt. Do a taste test. If it tastes good, it is good.

[Chuckyb]

Malt shelf life

Thanks to everyone! I will watch out for those toxins!