Old ingredients?

O.K. I have been out of homebrewing for about the last 4 or 5 years (don't ask. Divorce, moving, kids, etc) and have decided to get back into it.

Yes, I have ordered fresh ingredients for a couple batches, but my question is this. I have two old cans of extract (Mountmelick export ale which exhibits swelling, and a Laglander light lager) and some older DME.

Would it be dangerous to use these ingredients since there will be a full 1 hour boil? Or is the only real danger, making a bad batch of beer. I kind of hate to throw them out if there is no real danger.

Thanks for your input.

Finbuck

Ditch the swelled stuff- I remember swelled cans of dog food.....

I'd open and taste the others, looking for hints of 'cardboard'. But then, I also know that you can go a couple hyndred miles on the cord, once your tires are worn past the tread.... and dying with all ten fingers is like dying with money in the bank- you could have had more fun. Now, hold my beer, and watch me brew...

Throw that old stuff out. A bulging can is a very bad sign. I doubt anything there that would kill you, but you could make a very memorable brew. (meaning that in a bad way). Were those things just a couple years old and the can not buldging, I would say give it a go.

Keep, and use, the DME.

casebrew said:

Ditch the swelled stuff- I remember swelled cans of dog food.....

Click to expand...

At average temps, a swelling can usually means beasties are being born, and gas is being produced. At least, I know this from other canned goods.......

Chuck it- if you are getting back into the swing of things, then start fresh. nothing worse than having to toss a batch. start off right and you will be toasting your re-assimilation into the hobby right!

Not so fast! You may have discovered some new kind of lambic. Chuck it.

Take the can of swelled lme and use it for bottle bombs placed though out your property. Great fun. Except for the glass shards everywhere...

Or you could bury it in the backyard as part of a time capsule and dare someone to taste it 20 years from now.

All joking aside (no, seriously I'm joking, I'm not Really that redneck..honest) toss the swelled can. you can probably tell by the smell/taste of the others if they might be ok. They are heat pasterized at canning.

I've brewed with 6 year old extract & steeped some grain to freshen it along with some fresh hops. It worked out ok.

BUT, trash the swelled can. It is obviously damaged and contaminated.

Would it be dangerous to use these ingredients since there will be a full 1 hour boil? Or is the only real danger, making a bad batch of beer. I kind of hate to throw them out if there is no real danger.

if its in a can it usually means it was pasterized , the most common bacteria that can survive pasterization i believe is botulism, which if i remember from my micro-bio class has a heat-resistant spore around it. no matter how many hours you boil it, you cant kill those kinds of bacteria...ditch it.

"Would it be dangerous to use these ingredients since there will be a full 1 hour boil? Or is the only real danger, making a bad batch of beer. I kind of hate to throw them out if there is no real danger."




don't do it for saving a few bucks. just toss 'em.

loop

cgravier said:

the most common bacteria that can survive pasterization i believe is botulism, which if i remember from my micro-bio class has a heat-resistant spore around it. no matter how many hours you boil it, you cant kill those kinds of bacteria...ditch it.

Click to expand...

This scared me b/c of the fact that I have a young child. I know honey can contain botulism, but I also thought that if that honey were COOKED there would be no danger. Your comment above gave me pause.

Anyway, I dug this up on the web. Note the part in red.


I'm not saying I would USE that old can of extract (I'd toss ALL of the old stuff), but I wanted to make sure the facts about botulism were correct.

-walker

Hmmmm.. now that I re-read that passage, it says that the botulism TOXIN is destroyed by heat, but not the actual botulism bacteria that CREATED the toxin.

-walker

Because the botulism toxin is destroyed by high temperatures, persons who eat home-canned foods should consider boiling the food for 10 minutes before eating it to ensure safety.

[/INDENT]

I'm not saying I would USE that old can of extract (I'd toss ALL of the old stuff), but I wanted to make sure the facts about botulism were correct.

-walker[/QUOTE]

By the time you boil your wort you could have been infected simply by opening the can...and inhaling

Just opening the swelled can is hazardous- the goop that used to be malt syrup can erupt all over, spraying stinky, sticky mess. Or give it to some home brewer you dislike...

O.K.,

Thanks for everyone's input. I guess I knew better than to use the swelled can. I just needed someone else to tell me not to be a knucklehead.

A new batch with fresh ingredients will be brewed in the next few days.

Thanks All

Yeah - there are two things about botulism that can kill you. The germs (which are killed from the high heat - they are one) and the toxins they create, which also break down from heat.

But botulism is so deadly that it is not worth the risk. Ditch that swelled can unopened.