Old malt - only fit for bird food?

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man_beach
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Old malt - only fit for bird food?

Post by man_beach » Tue Dec 11, 2018 1:53 pm

I've found that I've got a couple of kilos of crushed Belgian Biscuit Malt which I haven't got round to using. It says on the packet -
'Best before 6 months from crushing/packing date' - which was 27/09/12 (!)
6 year old malt - best feed it to the birds? - Or is it worth risking a brew?

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vacant
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Re: Old malt - only fit for bird food?

Post by vacant » Tue Dec 11, 2018 2:37 pm

Sealed and stored coolish? No limit*

*Well, Muntons say 12 months I believe, but whenever I've searched I found no evidence going over this makes a detectable difference. I've used black malt 2 years old.
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Robwalkeragain
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Re: Old malt - only fit for bird food?

Post by Robwalkeragain » Tue Dec 11, 2018 3:44 pm

For a couple of kilo I'd just bin it, it will lack freshness and may have developed poor flavours. If it was a sack or two I'd probably use it

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vacant
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Re: Old malt - only fit for bird food?

Post by vacant » Tue Dec 11, 2018 3:50 pm

Thinking about this. Why not steep a small quantity and see what the liquor tastes like?
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Kingfisher4
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Re: Old malt - only fit for bird food?

Post by Kingfisher4 » Tue Dec 11, 2018 4:56 pm

2 kg, already crushed and 6 years old.
About £5ish to replace assuming you have a recipe that needs it all in mind. What is your time for a whole brew and the other ingredients worth?
Our garden birds would love it at this time of year! 😊

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Eric
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Re: Old malt - only fit for bird food?

Post by Eric » Tue Dec 11, 2018 5:25 pm

With a maximum recommended content of 10%, it's hard to think it would spoil a brew when well mixed with a base malt, but then it will be even older before all will be used.
Without patience, life becomes difficult and the sooner it's finished, the better.

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man_beach
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Re: Old malt - only fit for bird food?

Post by man_beach » Tue Dec 11, 2018 6:22 pm

I've tasted a bit - tastes OK but I might try steeping some as vacant suggests. (I too have used some very old dark malts with no obvious effect on taste). I presume that it would have lost some of its diastatic power but I only use about 250g of it in a 5 gallon brew anyway so that wouldn't be a concern.

I'll try a little bit on the bird table, see what the local sparrows think of it too!

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