8 year old kit.

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TylerGuy

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I recentally stared beer making after 8 years of not doing it. i was sorting my old equipment and i came across a niagra mist cranberry shiraz i never made. went out today to get the yeast as all i had was the the bladder in the box and the yeast would have been toast anyway. the guy at wine sence kinda chuckled and told me to toss it but for 2 bucks why not give it a shot? i tasted the wash and it tastes nice, plumy. I re-hydrated the yeast in the wash in a cup and it was going so i piched and let er rip! thoughts?
 
so far fermentation has taken off and it smells normal. WOOT WOOT!
 
I'd add awesome to the list of descriptive words!

Just a couple of Q's; Where was the kit stored? Attic, basement, middle of the Mojave under an inch sand, sunken in Lake Superior? Would you say that the temp was stable over the last eight years, and could you guess to the storage temp?

Pretty darn cool. I am just asking for novelty's sake. I don't plan on storing yeast for almost a decade. But curious none the less.

Thanks!
Nick
 
the yeast was bought because yeast cant live that long but the kit was always stored in its dark box, and always in a basement on the concrete floor so it stayed about 14-15 degrees Celsius. i noticed when i opened it that a layer of "gunk" that was more or less coagulated wine formed around on the inside wall of the bag. i think this may have stopped the oxidation of the wine.

P.S.
its still going to town fermenting.
 
Oops. Must have misread. Thought you ended up pitching the original yeast. Still neat though. Interested to see if the flavor profile is altered significantly, positively or otherwise. Guess we will know in a year, or whenever you uncork.
 
wont be long as these kits are recomended to be drank right after bottling. within a year the flavor is said to diminish actually.
 
Wow, no kidding. Real quick turn around. Would it make nice vinegar in its post year life, should some evade the corkscrew? I haven't made much vinegar from wine. Since most seems to disappear before I get a chance....
 
ive never made vinegar from wine either so no clue? however i racked the wine today and its looking great. i tasted it and i would have thought all the fruit flavors would have been oxidised out but nope its all there. I think the lesson here is never toss a kit without giving it a chance.
 
Sure sounds like it. I've made kits that were two years old, maybe even a bit older, but the fact that the Packaging withstood that time is equally impressive to me.
 
If it tastes plummy its already oxidized as a niagra should not taste plummy. The gunk in the bag was the good stuff from your must (not wine) precipitating out, they protect the wine from oxidation when they are in solution. I have used old packs of yeast, they can still be alive, activated as a starter to make sure of course, so your yeast pack my have been ok but better to be safe and get a new one.

So should you go ahead and make it? Of course. But you have to be aware that it is already oxidized some, you need to make sure you keep the SO2 levels at the right place to protect what is left, and if it all turns brown next week you will know it was already started down that path. This wont be one of those you can age a long time so plan on drinking it sooner rather than later and good luck.

WVMJ
 
bottled this wine today and it tastes just fantastic. no plummy tastes only cranberry and shiraz. the wine is dry because i did not halt fermentation early but its very drinkable. im supprised the low shelf life they put on these kits. cheers to all!
 
Excellent, it appears you might be a pretty good winemaker to pull the life out of an old kit. WVMJ
 
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