Yes, buckets with gamma lids for base malt. I’m a 10 minute drive from Northern Brewer, so I don’t need to store much else, but I will buy a few pounds of C40/C60 at a time. I tend to keep those in frosting buckets from the grocery store bakery. I figure a year is safe for uncrushed grain storage… no need to go much longer for me. My next big buy is going to be a sack of Maris Otter… I’m getting a little bored with the Rahr 2 row.
I have 12 gallon buckets with screw on lids that hold a whole sack of base malt… Then there is one called vittles vault… Was it Dannyboy that uses them… They are at a pet supply place…
As far as base malt goes, there are quite a few, pilsner, pale malt, marries otter, Vienna, Munich, Golden promise… and more. There a few others that could cross over and be considered a specialty…
For specialty, if you don’t have a LHBS close by, and you have to order, nothing wrong with getting 10 pounds… Shipping won’t change, unless you buy 5 now and 5 more later… Sneezles61
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Thanks for the info. I have a LHBS not too far from me, maybe 10 miles… but it is through the absolute worst area for traffic no matter what time of day so I tend to just order on line. I seem to gravitate to the Irish Red Ale and Kama Citra IPA as my go-to beers so maybe I will stock up enough to brew a few batches of those in between new brews. I want to do a scottish ale recipe that was in a magazine at some point.
So I used the gift card that was burning a hole in my pocket to order the Cereal Killer.
Ok so on another side of this topic. If one has no budget for $100 mill, I’ve heard a rolling pin with small amounts of grain can work in a ziplock bag. I’m only doing 1 gallon so I have around 2.5 lb worth of grain but I can’t do an actual mill on the budget right now. Any suggestions?
I have a few of big 50# vittle vaults pet food storage bins for storing grains and I have some in buckets as well. The vittle vaults will hold a whole sack. I buy 2 row, pilsner, vienna and munich by the sack at a LHBS. Usually keep c40, carafa special, and a few others on hand in smaller containers.
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The vittles vaults really are the way to go if you buy whole sacks. For all the odds and ends from pound sacks of specialty grains, a food grade bucket with omega lid works great.
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For 1 gallon batches just have them crushed when you buy them
I keep the grains in their bags which are lined in plastic. Roll em tight and store them in those black and yellow bins from HD. They are stacked 2 high on dollies that can be rolled around my brew area. I’ll try to keep a 50lb sack of 2-row MO Munich and pills Vienna and wheat I buy in 10 lbs bags. Specialty I’ll buy in 1pd bags. The specialty I’ll buy a little more than I need for recipes to build up supply. You have to be willing to substitute or else you’ll be always running to the store.
Garage sales this coming summer… Look for a coffee grinder, or perhaps a corona mill too… I’ve not tried it… yet, how about blender? Just ideas to see what else can work… Sneezles61
A corona style mill is definitely the way to go on a budget. You can look up corona grinder builds to make it even better. It is currently what I use and I’m on my 3 sack of grains with no issues. Got my mill for 15 on ebay, 5 g bucket for 5$ and had a drill already. Just bought an attachment for the drill that was less than 10$ and it works for me.
I used a corona mill for a couple years. It worked ok, just well enough to keep me from getting a better one. A larger hopper is a must - otherwise you’ll be constantly filling it and spilling grain all over the place. Attaching it to a board that would secure directly to the top of the mash tun was also a big improvement. The biggest downside to me was that they make a lot of dust, which depending on your system can lead to stuck mashes and sparges until you get it dialed in. But once you get the hang of it, they certainly can be utilized pretty effectively.
However, upgrading to a 3-roller mill was hands-down the best improvement I have made to my brew day.
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Got my grain mill today. Looks pretty nice! That blue film that protects the finish was a little annoying to peel off since it’s under all the screws. The base is ok. A little rough but that’s not what does the work so it will do. Anyone do any finishing on the base or go as far and making there own base? Can’t wait to put it to use. What is the best way to break it in before first use?
I didn’t do anything to mine. I may have wiped it down. Best way to break it in is crush up a batch. I hope you have a power drill. I rest my drill on something the same height so it’s easier to hold. It only crushes turning one way so make sure you have the drill spinning the right way. I think it’s reverse. As far as cleaning I tap the sides once in awhile I’ll blow it off
The rough base does seem to collect a good bit of flour every use. I keep a little paint brush handy to clean it off with, just brushing the flour into the bucket with the cracked grist.
I ran a couple pounds of cheap oats through mine before the first use and tossed them into the compost pile. Thought it may take off any oil on the rollers…maybe a waste but it made me feel better.
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If you got the cereal killer it’s not reverse 
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yea i run my cereal killer forward. The moving roller should turn toward the free roller.
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Sorry, forward then
I’ve lost a few points by having my drill in reverse 
Saves grain though. You can use it again and again
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