Old malt...to try it or not...

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Jeeperforlife

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Well Ive been on a brewing hiatus for the last year. I sit here today with plenty enough year old crushed malt and slightly out of date yeast and some time. What do you think? Is it worth my time?
 
"Year old crushed malt" as in, it was crushed a year ago? Or the malt is over a year old, and you recently crushed it, and are now having second thoughts about whether or not to bother brewing with it?

And is the out-of-date yeast dry or liquid? How has it been stored? If it's dry and was kept in a fridge, then it's probably fine. If it was liquid and kept in a fridge, then I'd build a starter to check viability before committing to a brew. If it's dry that was at room temp, then it's probably not worth the trouble.

What's the story on the hops you're thinking of using for this brew? Also old and stale? Or fresh?
 
The grain is questionable, make a starter for the yeast and the hops should be ok, I say go for it. You would just throw them out otherwise, right? Think of it as an experiment on how long you can keep product.
 
Mash the old stale grains to make a starter.

Put US05 in starter.

Buy new grains.

Use same hops.

Bam.
 
Right or wrong, I would pitch the grain and use the yeast and hops. Just how I would do it.
 
Go for it. Dried yeast stored in a fridge should be good for pretty much forever. If your grains have been kept cool, dry and show no signs of mold or decay they should still work. I dont see any reason why hop pellets, if vacuum sealed and frozen should go bad either.
 
I don't know of any way to "proof" the grains and know whether or not you're getting soluble fermentables, but grain is cheap, so I would probably recommend just using fresh grain. The yeast is almost certainly fine as-is, I would just rehydrate and use it without a starter (starters are mostly pointless for dry yeasts). Even if it's not, a packet of US-05 is what, $3? The hops are likely fine.

I'd get fresh grains, use the hops you have, pitch the yeast you have. If nothing happens after 3 days, spend the $3 on a new pack of US-05 and pitch it.
 
Starters would be pointless for dry yeasts if they weren't over a year old :D
 
Starters would be pointless for dry yeasts if they weren't over a year old :D

True, the age may be a factor here. However, the way its been explained to me is that dry yeasts are basically put into "hibernation" with all the nutrients and whatnot that they need to just wake up and immediately start attacking a full batch of wort. When you put them in a starter, then they burn up all those reserves in the starter instead of the main batch of beer, so that by the time you transfer them into the wort, they're tired out.

I'm sure I'm oversimplifying that explanation, and it might not even be correct - I'd welcome any knowledgeable corrections.
 
Well,I've made small starters for yeast that was up to 2 years old. For only about 3-4 hours though. Surprisingly,it was more than enough to get them going again. At least once,a blow off was needed. Other times,re-hydrating the old packets was enough coupled with cooler ferment temps to get a good,clean fermentation going. So I guess rehydrating the old ones is nearly as good as a small starter for re-invigorating old yeast.
 
Well Ive been on a brewing hiatus for the last year. I sit here today with plenty enough year old crushed malt and slightly out of date yeast and some time. What do you think? Is it worth my time?

If it smells and tastes OK you could at a minimum boil it for 15 minutes and use it like a "adjunct"....

Or split it up and only use a bit in the MASH... the enzymes from the newer malt should do the trick.

BUT... if there is any "FUNK"... it is not worth the effort to salvage.

DPB
 
Well Im just gonna go for it. I have the time today so Im going to give it a go. Mash water is heating now. Ill post back with the results for the possible benefit of those who may later find themselves in my boots.

Wish me luck. (Im RUSTY)
 
Oh and in response to what some had mentioned: The malt looks and smells good yet. Its all been sealed in ziploc bags in the dark in a temp controlled environment so...we'll see what happens
 
If anyone is interested, the mash went just fine. And I realized the grain was way older than I had originally thought. It was actually crushed almost 3 years ago! Now I just have to hope the yeast is still viable.
 
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