I would like to move to bulk base grain storage this summer. Any one have recommendations on decent bins for grain storage?
For my base malts I like these: IRIS Airtight Pet Food Container, 50-Pound, Clear/Black Amazon.com
For adjuncts/specialties I like these: Bergan Stack-N-Stor 40 Stackable Storage Amazon.com
Most importantly is that they have a lid to prevent rodents and to keep moisture out. Depending on where you live you may want to get a dehumidifier for the grain storage room. I live in Utah and don’t have problems with moisture because, well, desert. Good luck! Hope it works out for you!
Thank you. I’m in Colorado so moisture is not an issue. Thinking about starting small with 3 base grains since I primarily use Pilsner and Munich malts in a lot of my beers.
I leave the grain in the bags and put the bags in plastic storage tubs.
Yes, I would second this! This is a good technique! Roll the tops of the bags down and press out as much air as possible then tape the tops shut, then lid.
Thanks Denny. I had thought about that yesterday. Seems like the most cost effective way as well.
I like 5 gallon buckets with gamma lids. Airtight, but tight, and a handy size. 50-55 lbs is ~2 1/2 buckets.
Vittle Vaults are my go to storage container, but I also use buckets with gamma lids. Both are good. The VV are large enough to hold a full sack.
Your climate is fairly similar to ours, just a little bit more humid. I’ve found that grain left in the bag is fine in the basement. Now if you have pest issues then you definitely some type of containers, even if they aren’t airtight. The only thing I’ve had a problem with is flaked rice, even at cool [mid 50’s to mid 60’s] temps it’ll start to get a bit rancid after several months. Mebbe it’s the radon gas ;).
I don’t purchase my base malts in bulk…yet. But I simply reseal my specialty grains in the plastic bags they were bought in using my FoodSaver machine. I can’t use the FoodSaver to pull a vacuum due to the type of bag, but forcing the air out and resealing the bag is easy.
Another good option for smaller amounts of specialty malts is Mason jars, available up to 64 oz at Walmart.
I prefer to let the dealer store bulk ingredients. I simply buy from a high volume dealer about a week out to ensure fresh quality grains are delivered just in time to brew. This allows me spontaneity and variety without consuming space for storage.
There’s wisdom here. When I start to accumulate little jars with odds and ends of specialty grains I may never use up, I am inspired to reboot, discard said grains and return to simplified recipes. I hate to feel compelled to complicate a recipe or brew a certain style to use a grain just because it’s there on the shelf.
Same here. They are always a decent price on Amazon and the 50lb vault will hold 55lbs of grain.
I too tend to be spontaneous in my brewing. Unfortunately, the nearest HBS is 130 miles away and stuff ordered online usually takes most of a week to arrive, unless I pay 1/2 the cost of the supplies for expedited delivery. Since I can’t just hop over to the LHBS, a well stocked larder is necessary. I usually have on hand at least 4 of 5 bags of base malt, and varying amounts of 20 or more specialty malts and grains. With a comparable variety of hops and dry yeast I generally can brew whatever I happen to feel like. If I get a bunch of odds and sods that are getting long in the tooth I just make some beer stew, which usually is better than attempts at any particular style. The one thing I rarely by and therefore don’t have on hand is liquid yeast, after a week in the back of a Fedex truck it’s usually cooked in the summer or frozen solid in the winter.
Except that you end up paying 2-4 times as much that way
That’s why I do buy base malts and hops in bulk. I’m never going to buy specialty malts in bulk, so that’s where I’ll buy a couple pounds, use part of it, and accumulate the leftovers. Spontaneity is why I have leftovers, I’ve moved on to another style.
True …but for me, only brewing once a month and not having to store (more of a concern) and use up to five month old grain (less of a concern) is worth it. I just don’t brew enough to deal with bulk storage.
Edit: I might brew with 2 row, Pilsner, Maris Otter, Golden Promise, etc from various maltsters. If I bought one 50 lb bag that would be ~5 brews using one base malt from one maltster. If I bought the variety I prefer, I’d have 20 plus brews worth of base malt which would be enough for ~1.5 years. I simply don’t want to do that.
The sizes that I buy in are: Pils, pale 2 row (both German typically), and MO in 50/55 pound sacks; Sauermalz, Vienna, and Munich in 10 pound sacks (2 or more if I am brewing a Vienna or Dunkel); carafoam, Carahell, and the like in either 5 or 1 pound bags, depending on what I have in the works for planned brews. Specialty malts of another sort - as needed. I brew 10 gallon batches, typically and a lot of Light German Lagers, so I can use up a sack in a month or two with regular weekly brewing. For hops, I buy German Magnum by the pound and Hallertauer, Mittelfrüh, Tettnanger, and East Kent Goulding’s by the half pound.
About once or twice a year when I brew at someone else’s house as a social get together with friends who homebrew, I may go to a kit (gasp!) to try out something new.
Edited to correct spelling.