Received Free Brew Kit

BradN · Apr 28, 2009

I'm was getting ready to buy a home brew kit when a freind said to hold off because he had an unopened one that was a gift. He gave it to me today & with the equipment was a ale kit.

My question is, what, in the kit, expires? I saw an expiration date on the yeast (Nov. 2000) but what about the hops, malt extract, ect....? The kit was purchased in 1999 or 2000.

Thanks in advance,
Brad

TurboBrew · Apr 28, 2009

Nope, it's a goner. My first attempt at brewing was a Mr.Beer kit I found in my fathers attic. Must've been 10 years old. Needless to say the yeast were very very dead.

sundaybrewingco · Apr 28, 2009

Tell your friend "Thank you" for the beer kit, but give him back the ingredients.

GilaMinumBeer · Apr 28, 2009

What have you got to lose? Time?

Get some new yeast and hops. Try to match the hop AAU's to the kitted range. If the tin the malt is in looks okay (no rust, dents, or buldges) it'll still be usable but, I will warn you it may be darker than expected and might have that old extract twang in the finished product.

Gremlyn · Apr 28, 2009

+1 on giving it a try with fresh yeast and hops. If it really sucks when it's done, just give it all to your friend as a "thank you back" gift

sundaybrewingco · Apr 28, 2009

Ask for a full refund.

camiller · Apr 28, 2009

I brewed a 7year old kit once, it worked. I used fresh yeast and added a pound of DME which I had read would take some of the staleness off. Another alternative would be to use the malt for yeast starters later.

cvstrat · Apr 28, 2009

The good news is that you got some free equipment! I'm not so sure about brewing that old stuff, but the extrat/yeast is pretty cheap if you wanna brew!

Received Free Brew Kit

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