We tried 48 year old beer today.

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Revvy said:
THIS is one beer I would love to taste.
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After 74 years, the aroma was wonderful. The flavor was kinda like watered down scotch and a bit disappointing. A microbiologist tried to culture the yeast from it, but as you might suspect, there was nothing viable.
 
Great thread, Revvy. I have a similar situation, and I can't make up my mind exactly what to do about it. My grandmother passed away earlier this year (she was my last remaining grandparent), and in cleaning out the old refrigerator in her back room, I found this:

TechBeerTimKreitzSMALL.jpg


This bottle of Tech Lager was brought to my grandmother's house in San Angelo, Texas circa 1975 from Pittsburgh via visiting family. Somehow, it was never consumed and sat cold in that refrigerator (a 1957 Hotpoint that *still* works perfectly) for well over 35 years. It's in my refrigerator now.

I've often thought of drinking it, but until I saw this thread, hadn't taken the idea too seriously. Now I'm inspired. What do you all think I should do?
 
Denny said:
After 74 years, the aroma was wonderful. The flavor was kinda like watered down scotch and a bit disappointing. A microbiologist tried to culture the yeast from it, but as you might suspect, there was nothing viable.
Click to expand...

Hmmm...Makes me wonder how it'd compare to the #3 Burton ale I tried to duplicate? We'll be trying it for the 1st time tomorrow evening when my son comes over to join us. The ale did change after about 1890,as folks seemed to what less sweet ales at that point. According to the reprinted news paper reports on the info I read.
I passed on the liquid Burton ale yeast at Midwest,as it was described as producing apple flavors,among others. I wouldn't want it in a competition,& have the judges think it was off. Just can't make up my mind whether to use it or not with the Burton water salts?
 
Revvy, your life is one adventure after another, getting pig parts installed, brewing epic memorial beers, drinking beers from a now defunct brewery, whats next, eating at the last supper with the original crew???? :D

Honestly, nice find there and an extrordinary little tale!
 
Too cool. I still feel uncertain about beer that old, but what the hell I get the chance I might as well Of try it. Course this is probably how the zombie apocalypse starts.
 
Tim_Kreitz said:
Great thread, Revvy. I have a similar situation, and I can't make up my mind exactly what to do about it. My grandmother passed away earlier this year (she was my last remaining grandparent), and in cleaning out the old refrigerator in her back room, I found this:

TechBeerTimKreitzSMALL.jpg


This bottle of Tech Lager was brought to my grandmother's house in San Angelo, Texas circa 1975 from Pittsburgh via visiting family. Somehow, it was never consumed and sat cold in that refrigerator (a 1957 Hotpoint that *still* works perfectly) for well over 35 years. It's in my refrigerator now.

I've often thought of drinking it, but until I saw this thread, hadn't taken the idea too seriously. Now I'm inspired. What do you all think I should do?
Click to expand...

It's been refrigerated for 35 years? Nice... Both of the beers that Revvy had were flat and obviously, not well preserved. I would really be curious as to whether it was still carbonated.

Maybe even see if you can dig up a recipe for that beer and see how it compares... :)
 
jiggs_casey said:
It's been refrigerated for 35 years? Nice... Both of the beers that Revvy had were flat and obviously, not well preserved. I would really be curious as to whether it was still carbonated. Maybe even see if you can dig up a recipe for that beer and see how it compares... :)
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Well, I have a four-fold plan as of right now. Firstly, I am going to open the beer and drink it. Secondly, I am going to videotape the event for posterity and post it to the Interwebs. Thirdly, I'm going to attempt a yeast harvest from the sediment in the bottom of the bottle and see if I can make a starter. Fourthly, I'm going to take the starter to my biologist-brewer friend, Stan, and see if we can colonize the strain in a culture.

I'll keep everyone posted. :mug:
 
Tim_Kreitz said:
Well, I have a four-fold plan as of right now. Firstly, I am going to open the beer and drink it. Secondly, I am going to videotape the event for posterity and post it to the Interwebs. Thirdly, I'm going to attempt a yeast harvest from the sediment in the bottom of the bottle and see if I can make a starter. Fourthly, I'm going to take the starter to my biologist-brewer friend, Stan, and see if we can colonize the strain in a culture.

I'll keep everyone posted. :mug:
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awesome!!!!
 
I grew up in the Sebewaing area in the 1960's. My family are all of German decent so I remember this beer by the case at many of family gatherings. Last week I saw an empty at a thrift shop,the pheasant art work always brings me back to my childhood. This area was one of the best pheasant hunting areas in the county. My grandparents used to rent rooms in their farmhouse to Detroit area hunters.
 
Pivzavod said:
Revvy you should get your Seth Rogen look-a-like friend to judge at next years HBT competition ;)
Click to expand...

Maybe.

Funny, since he and I have been brewing and hanging out over the last year, I haven't entered any beers in any contests he's judged. I didn't brew much around my surgery and missed pretty much all the contest deadlines. He's tasted every brew I've brewed over the last year and a half or so, but not "officially."

It will be interesting to see if he ends up doing any of my beers when I get back to entering them, and if he'd recognize them.

His girlfriend often stewards for the categories he judges so she'd probably see my name on the entries before he did....interesting.

As an aside, he's tasted my Rye Kentucky Common and really wants me to enter it in category 23. He really loved it.
 
It will be most excellent if you are able to roust up some yeast from that old bottle. I'm curious to see if it comes out.
 
Revvy said:
Bad news folks, the yeast never took off. :(
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That is sad. If you still plan to go to the brewery site you may want to try to harvest some wild yeast from there. That would still make for a pretty interesting beer and story.
 
Sorry to hear that the yeast didn't take off but wow what a story. i love the names of the beers they made "Sebewaing Beer, an Old Stock Ale, and Sport Beer, as well as Golden Pheasant beer." I think I'm going to have to make a "sport beer."
 

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