I Have 1 Beer!

Ok, I was going through my stuff, and I stumbled across a bottle of the first beer I ever brewed, from 3 1/2 years ago.

The cap is on, sealed tight and I see CO2 bubbles in the bottle.

Should I drink it or just throw it out?

It was a partial mash recipe for an Octoberfest beer. I dont remember what it tasted like when fresh.

How can you tell if it has been infected with bacteria or has gone bad?

You can tell from tasting it or just from smell.

Try it. Worst case, it's terrible and you pour it out after one sip.

Try it out. I f you can stand the smell you can probably stand the taste. Worst case it tastes bad. In that case you can try to explain what flavors it had and then determine what infected it if anything. It won't kill you and you might get surprised with a good beer. I have never had to ask someone whether I should drink a beer or not.

I bet that is the best beer you have ever made!

hell I'll try it!

Not sure why you wouldn't try it. It's not going to hurt you.

So? How was it?

I know it sounds weird I was thinking of not drinking it. My career tells me I know it is safe to drink, but I got really bad food poisoning once so that terror kinda fogs my thoughts.

So I did try it. Didn't taste too bad. The smell was sweet malty, no hops. Taste was sweet and malty with a thick body. Good carbonation but poor head retention. It was pretty clear, but I would expect that given the bottle has sat undisturbed for 2 years.

What things would tip you off to contamination?

All though I haven't had any yet (knock on wood) "Gushers", slugs(viscous slime like lumps), foul foul foul odors, strings or ropes....

Not the best ever though huh? I would have thought it would be awesome with all that aging. Must have been past the point of diminishing returns.

amrmedic said:

What things would tip you off to contamination?

Click to expand...

A sour taste or smell.

Threads like these are pretty common. I think Revvy has a "copy/pasta" page just for this type of thing. In lue of me actually not being able to locate it, let's check the wiki...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Will_bad_homebrew_kill_me_or_make_me_blind?

Remember, 100,000 monkeys with keyboards can't be wrong...

The REALLY REALLY short version is drink it. It can not hurt you. If it is infected it will probably "gush" out of the bottle...The fact that it has not exploded is a pretty decent sign that it is not infected...

Tell us all about how great it is!

I do have a life you know I was out.

OP, why the hell would you not want to drink your beer???? Nothing pathogenic can grow in beer...

Read this...https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/possible-infection-196008/#post2279193

Also, In the Dec 07 Zymurgy Charlie Papazian reviewed bottles of homebrew going back to the first AHC competition that he had stored, and none of them went bad, some had not held up but most of them he felt were awesome...We're talking over 20 years worth of beers.

This is a great thread about one of our guys tasting 4-5 years of his stored brew.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/revisiting-my-classics-160672/

Beer's like wine, a lot of them improve with age....That's why stone has "vertical epic" with vintage, and people have vertical tasting parties

I made a beer that won't even be opened before 5 years go by on Sunday. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/he...emorial-5-year-aged-barleywine-recipe-195096/

It's really not a matter of "beer going bad," beer rarely goes "bad" it just may lose some of it's originaly character and it may chance....but that is not always for the worse.

You'll probably be missing out on the best beer you've made for being chicken....

Zamial said:

Threads like these are pretty common. I think Revvy has a "copy/pasta"

Click to expand...

mmm, I love PASTA

superjunior said:

mmm, I love PASTA

Click to expand...

With maranara or alfredo sauce?

Revvy said:

With maranara or alfredo sauce?

Click to expand...

marinara, but the wife makes one mean sea food alfredo

voting for Alfredo. (how did you know where I lived?)

I've found all my really old beers have ended up oxidized. It drives me nuts, trying to figure out where. My solution is to never let them get too old!

ksbrain said:

voting for Alfredo. (how did you know where I lived?)

I've found all my really old beers have ended up oxidized. It drives me nuts, trying to figure out where. My solution is to never let them get too old!

Click to expand...

yes. beers must be kept in CHECK.....burrrp

ksbrain said:

voting for Alfredo. (how did you know where I lived?)

I've found all my really old beers have ended up oxidized. It drives me nuts, trying to figure out where. My solution is to never let them get too old!

Click to expand...

vote for pesto.