LME Shelf life

Hello Everyone, first post here. I am a winemaker in Washington State for a 50,000 case winery, and recently decided to start brewing beer at home. I really enjoy both wine and beer, but I think each has their place. I taste wine every day, all day, and when I get home, I want a beer. It helps that on my way home I drive by all the hop-yards, and man do they smell great in September. Plus, beer is more portable for a lot of my extra curricular activities, fishing, hiking, snowboarding, etc. And I really can't imagine watching the Seahwaks with a nice glass of Cab Sauv. Anyways, first post so I thought I would give a little intro.

I brewed my first batch a couple weeks ago, an IPA extract w/grains recipe I found somewhere. Fermented in a primary, racked to a secondary, and my wife and I are bottling it tonight. Tomorrow we will be starting a batch of Snow Cap Ale clone. I am really appreciative of all the info on here, so many questions I had were quickly answered with the search function.

There is one question though that I could not find the answer to. I notice a lot of the brewing recipes call for certain amounts of LME, which unfortunately they do not sell in those exact quantities. So from my first batch I have about 2 lbs. of LME left over. My next batch calls for a different LME, so I will not be using it again tomorrow. How long does this stuff last for once opened? And, is there a way to store it to make it last longer? Would there be a difference with DME?

I tried searching the Briess website, and all it says on the PDF data sheet is use within 24 months of the original production date, no info on storage/usage once opened.

Thanks in advance to anyone who answers. Looking forward to enjoying our first homebrew in a few weeks. I'll let y'all know how it tastes. Until then, we'll relax and have a commercial brew.

I would bet that even after opening, it should be find for a couple of weeks in the fridge. Especially as it's only 2 pounds, even if it was a little tired it probably won't affect the next beer.

just like beer, temp and oxygen exposure will cause it to age. put it in a good quality zip lock bag with no air in it and pop it in the fridge. Should be perfectly fine for a few weeks. Older lme will get darker in color, kind of like and old apple.

When I used to use LME I would just keep it sealed and store in the fridge. When I wa ready to use, I would set the container in hot water to make it flow easier. I would have LME in the fridge for several months before use and it never tasted any different.

Also, welcome aboard. I have family near Sunnyside and I know that hop smell you're talking about!

LME unopened will keep a long time without any notable deterioration. As reported before, it will eventually darken but I have kept it frozen for over a year with no problem. When I did extract I bought all of my LME for the year at once and foze it. If I had left overs I poured it in a washed peanut butter jar and froze that. I have kept left overs 6 months + or - with no problem. You can also consider using Dry Malt Extract if you have a total that is hard to buy. Also you can start loking for a home brew shop that will sell you bulk LME by the pound. I know that there are brew shops in Seattle that sell bulk.....when you get that way. Have fun with it, beer brewing is very forgiving and a lot more and art than a science.

I often buy more than I need. I just re-seal it (Food Saver-type vacuum) and toss it in the freezer. So, if I go a couple of months without brewing, I feel fine using it.

it's also good for starters - where you bulk-up the quantity of your liquid yeast (not required for dry yeast) prior to pitching.

Welcome to HBT!

Is it canned LME? If so you can put just a tiny bit of vodka on top (just enough to cover the LME), cover it with saran wrap and rubber band the wrap on and pop it in the fridge. The vodka is just a bit of extra insurance in case anything sneaks in through the saran wrap. Just like putting vodka in the airlock. I've stored cans of LME this way and had them last for several weeks.

Thanks for the tips everyone, I am glad I will be able to make use of it. I have been storing it in the refrigerator, and think I may end up using it for building up a starter. It was not canned, it came in a resealable (screw on lid) plastic container. Yakima has one home brew shop, and their selection of LME is limited. Basically two brands, and two sizes of each brand, small (3 lbs.) and huge (5 gallon bucket). In other words, it makes it a little difficult to buy exact quantities for recipes. I am brewing tonight and the recipe uses both DME and LME. Looking forward to the DME, as its a little cheaper and comes in a larger variety of sizes.

Bottled the first brew last night, went super smooth, and really fun. Now we hurry up and wait!