It's been nearly 8 years.....

since I brewed last. My Cooper's Microbrewery is coming in tomorrow & I'm looking forward to getting my first batch going in a long, long time. The Cooper's kit is supposed to make 6 gallons. I've brewed quite a bit before, so is there anything that I can do to enhance this kit? I've still got some Crystal 40 (I think) steeping grains that still look and smell O.K. Should I throw some of that in there to steep? Also, I've still got some corn sugar left over for priming. This still looks and smells O.K. too. Should I use this stuff? The stuff has been in my basement in a cool dry place inside my brew pot in plastic bags for nearly 8 years. I couldn't believe that it still looked/smelled O.K.

Not sure exactly what is in the Coopers kit, do you have a link to what you bought?

I would not personally use ANY ingredients that are 8 years old under any circumstances. Equipment yes, raw ingredients (grain, yeast, hops, sugar) NO! I don't know what happens to sugar over that period if its kept dry but I still wouldn't bother with it.

I wouldn't use them. Grains don't last but a few weeks after grinding so after 8 years I'm sure they have nothing left to offer. Who knows about the sugar but I am sure it could have problems after that long a time. Sugar is cheap so my suggestion is to get some fresh.

Dennis

Thanks for the replies. Here's the kit that I'm getting. Not much info on what's in it. I'll probably toss the grain, but I'll probably go ahead and prime with the sugar if it tastes O.K., because I'm extremely cheap/ hardheaded/stubborn and I'll be boiling it up in solution anyway. My main concern is with that kit. It probably uses sugar as some of the fermentibles and I'm not real keen on that.

Although I've never done AG or even partial, I've always been a fan of steeping specialty grains. In days gone by, my normal MO was to either use 2 cans of LME (one hopped) or one hopped can and a couple of pounds of DME. Start off steeping some SG's, throw in the extracts and roll on. Not too glamorous I know, but I've managed to make some very drinkable stuff this way. My memory is fading these days and I'm just looking for ideas to get started again.