Can I freeze liquid extract?

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crammer

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As the title states, can I freeze liquid extract and thaw prior to brew day?

I went on a spending spree with AHS and I bought too many of their $20 kits. :mug:
 
I keep my LME in the fridge and DME in the freezer. I'm a little afraid the LME will pickup freezer burn.
 
I would just refrigerate it. I just used some that was refrigerated for 6 months and it made great beer! The freezer scares me...
 
It should be fine if it would freeze at all. The sugar concentration could keep it from freezing. If it did freeze there should be no damage, possibly some ice would form if it could separate like an iceberg in the ocean. It will freeze fine but the fridge would work about as good. Then you don't have to worry about remembering to thaw it for a brew day. I say fridge
 
I asked my LHBS about keeping LME over time and he thought mold might be a problem with any air introduced. I bought a 33 lb. jug to save quite a bit of money. Took 5 half-gallon plastic milk jugs, washed thoroughly, sanitized, then filled them to the brim out of the bulk jug. Placed the caps on loosely, squeezed out what little air was left in the space until syrup was squeezing out, then tightened the caps and put them in the fridge. I've got two left that are about 2 months old. Each weighs almost exactly 6 lbs. -- good for most 5 gallon batches of the styles I usually brew, plus one partially "full" one to top off recipes.
 
I freeze my 3.3lbs jar of Munich extract because I use so little in each recipe. It's gone through 3 freeze-thaw cycles, been used in 3-4 beers and is about 6 months old and I can't taste any problems. Might be different with your base extract.
 
Well, a while ago, maybe 18 months or so I broke down my 33 lb jug into freezer bags, pushed the sir out and put them in my freezer in the basement then forgot about them. I'm not as concerned with taste as if they will kill me. Thoughts?

They aren't hard frozen. They are hard, but I can bend them.
 
I don't think they'll kill you. You will boil it and kill anything nasty during brewing.
 
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