how long and in what conditions should grain, hops and yeast stored? I'm looking to start buying somewhat in bulk so that I don't have to order new stuff every other week. I get malt crushed so I'm sure that makes a difference in the storage of it.

Unfortunately, I don't have any experience storing crushed grain. I do normally buy in bulk and keep mine in an old refrigerator that no longer works at all. It's in my garage which varies widely in temps. I've never stored my base grain for more than a few months (it just doesn't last that long, 50 pounds lasts me about 2 months). I have, however, used some specialty grains that were stored for more than a year with no problems at all. I keep them in vacuum-sealed plastic pouches. The fridge is just to keep mice out, really.

The hops I keep (also vacuum-seal) in the freezer of my keg fridge (I have several fridges/freezers...it's taking over ). I've used some that had been in there over a year and they were fine, although I didn't get the bitterness level that I expected, so I suspect they'd lost some of their Alpha Acids.

yeah I know hops lose some of thier alpha acid over time in storage but don't know what the rate is without looking it up on the net.
you're right though about grains not lasting long. I used to think 5 gallons of beer was a lot but between my wife and I it doesn't last near as long as I expected. with a 5 week brewing and bottling time (just ordered 4 kegs and everything I need to run 4 kegs) we'd run out of homerew and have to buy more.
so I'm thinking I can try and keep 4 beers on tap and just buy bulk base grain and order specialty with yeast. speaking of yeast do you know any way to keep yeast for long term so I don't have to keep buying more (they reproduce quickly so if you have a sample you shouldn't need to buy more)
thanks

The supplier where I bought my first 50# bag told me that uncrushed grain sealed in buckets or bags should be ok for a year, and (don't know anyone who wouldn't use 50# in less than a year)
crushed grain can be stored in a cool dark place for up to 10 days. I've made 14 batches this year so long term storage is not an issue.

i buy my base grains in 50 lb. bags, and store them in plastic containers in my cool room. i make a trip to the city about every other month and get specialty grains and yeast and odds and ends. my hops are dried and packed in 1 oz. vacum bags and go in the freezer with the yeast. a bag of grain will last about 3 or four months, and about once a year i'll brew up a surprize batch and use up all the leftover grains thats taking up space in my room, and in the past some of these brews have turned out pretty good.
gary

I love some of my "Whatcha-Got" brews from stray grain/hops. I've even put one (basically a light-bodied Brown) into my regular rotation.

Whole grains are good for 1 year no problem in a sealed container. Crushed grains are fine for 1 or 2 months if they are stored in an airtight bag no problem also.
Dry yeast in the fridge is good till the expiration date. Which if the supplier keeps fresh stock should be about a year. Hops in the fridge in the sealed nitrogen flushed bags are good for a year easily also.
You can reuse yeast but you take a chance of contamination. I sometimes rack wort onto a yeast cake from a batch that i keg. There are ways to reuse but for $1.00 or $1.20 for a pack of yeast i just use new.
Of course i have an almost endless supply of ingredients since i sell supplies!! makes it nice!!

Where do you get your yeast packs for $1.00 to $1.20, jeepguy. I'd like to order some at that price. My regular supplier just jacked his price up to $3.50/pack.

Jeepguy turned me on to Nottingham yeast. He sells it on his website for around $1.20 a pack. I buy like a dozen at a time and it hasn't done me wrong yet. I used to use the Wyeast smack packs but for the price, the Nottingham (for me) has very little taste differnce.

My website and ebay are down most of the way until about october because i had tendon surgery on my arm and its a long painful recovery. So i shut them down for a bit. But if you need some let me know. I can still take paypal. I can ship a few packs for $1.00 shipping in the u.s.
I have nottingham for $1.20, muntons for $1.00, red star & lavin wine yeast for $1.00.
I just got 50 packs of the nottingham so i have plenty in stock.

Sounds like i could ship them to you and you could still save alot!!
brian@flatfenderbrewing.com is my email. www.thebrewguy.com is the website but its not much at the moment since i removed a few hundred itema from it.

Nottingham is my favorite and its 15 grams so its a bigger pack too.