Irish Moss - Shelf life?

Hi all,

Anyone know how long you can keep Irish Moss? I have been trying to stick to the Reinheitsgebot when I brew but keep coming back to priming and the corn sugar and it spoils the whole idea of German purity laws. I brew German/Bavarian beers pretty much exclusively with the exception of a clone of Killian's for the wife.

Anyway, I have this vial of Irish Moss on hand that has been closed up and sealed for a couple years. It looks OK, smells OK, nothing seems to be growing.

Thoughts? I know it's only $2 worth of moss but frugal is good, right?

Considering it will be in the boil for 15 minutes it won't hurt anything, and if it doesn't do anything (all though I think it will work just fine....), no harm no foul.

VERY good point! Thanks for that!

Well, I'm about half way though a 4 oz bag after 6 years. Seems to be doing the job still.

I always keep mine in a small spice jar in the fridge. Kept since I first bought a 1 lb. bag a little over a year ago.