Has my malt gone bad?

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I just opened my first bulk bag of grain last night - Briess 2 Row (well, it says Briess Brewer's Malt). Something about it doesn't seem right. It is slightly darker than the last bit of Briess 2 Row that I had leftover from a previous batch. It's not a large difference but enough that I would have guess it's Munich or something just by color. The taste and texture are slightly stale. It's not quite as crunchy as what I'm used to but it still tastes like grain. I do feel there's some other subtle flavor there too but I just can't put my hands on what it is.

I bought it around the beginning of June. I think it was raining so the bag may have gotten a little damp but it wasn't much. I wasn't worried at all about that assuming their was some sort of liner inside the bag - there wasn't. It has been stored in a spare bedroom with the rest of my grain since I got it and the bag has been left in the open. I normally store all my grain in vittles vaults (pet food containers with gamma seal lids) but didn't have enough room for this much grain. Being this is my first bulk bag I was wondering if the grain can remain slightly damp from the malting process?

What do you guys think? Do I have a problem? Should I brew a batch and just see? If there is a problem, is there any way to save the rest of the grain? I have pictures but was having trouble uploading them. I'll work on that.
 
let it dry out and check then,it can mildew if too moist and exposed to air, if that happens throw it out
 
Here are the pictures. Do I dry it out just by leaving it exposed to the air for a bit?
 

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the sealed bag just needs dry warmth, I would empty the bag into 1 gallon ziplocks and place in the sun to dry, somewhere not damp, the open bag of 2 row just close it up as best possible and do the same, you don't want bugs in it
 
I can't diagnose from here but if it's gone slack (gotten wet and is no longer crunchy), you may be looking at problems if you use it. If it has any trace of a moldy scent or taste, feed it to the chickens and get fresh malt for your beer. The color variation may be normal - I don't see anything there in your picture to alert me to a problem. Your test batch notion isn't a bad one, provided there are no obvious signs of mold or mildew. Brew with it and see!
 
Thanks for all the help.

I've put a space heater on low in the room with the grain for now. Up here in Juneau, Alaska, sun is not something we have much of this time of year. The grain still has a bit of a crunch but it's a noticeable decrease. I'll still plan on brewing tomorrow but tasting and looking for problems along the way.

I'm really hoping I can salvage this stuff - there's still about 45 lbs in that bag and it wasn't cheap to ship up here. Either way, how should I be dealing with a bulk bag in the future? Should I immediately split it up or get it in an airtight container or was this a fluke and I should be fine leaving it in the bag for some time?
 
its ok to keep those grains cold and dry, as a matter of fact its the preferred way to store short term usage of grain, just take the grain being used for brewday and warm it up to the 60 to 70 range a day prior to brewing
 
looking at that bag is that dry malt extract in the briess bag" if so just keep it as dry as possible
 
Ozarks Mountain Brew said:
looking at that bag is that dry malt extract in the briess bag" if so just keep it as dry as possible

No that's the grain I'm talking about. I know, I expected it to have the words "2 row" somewhere too but they're not.
 

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thanks just checking because that packaging is what we get DME in and they use a white plastic sack for grain here
 

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