What are the chances?

I was cleaning out some boxes in the garage and found 12 bottles of a summer ale I made. I checked my brew log and see that I made that over 2 years ago!

Question is what are the chances it is still good? I am almost afraid to even open them but I am going to have to..I need the bottles for my next brew.

Summer Ale? I'd have to see the recipe, but I doubt that anything other than, say, a Barleywine or Old Ale (or imperial something-or-other) would survive 2 years and still be very good.

But it couldn't hurt to try. Why would you be afraid to try? There's alcohol in there, so it's not like there's a danger in sampling it. No known pathogens can live in beer---that's why it became so popular in the first place, because it was often safer than drinking the polluted city water. So try one!

What are the conditions in your garage like? Hot? Cold? What was the gravity/ABV? How much hops? All these things will affect how good it is today.

3lb DME
2lb DRE
1.5 Saaz
.5 Saaz
Cal Ale Yeast

Garage temp fluctuates from 40 to 80 depending on time of year.

Hardball said:

Garage temp fluctuates from 40 to 80 depending on time of year.

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Ooof! That is the killer.

Yeah...80f...prolly killed it. But try it anyway.

Nothing to lose.

Go for it.
Try one at room temp to see if it's funky.

Chill one, open it, pour it, smell it. If there's nothing bad give it a taste. You've nothing to lose!

What Caplan said....

DRINK IT!!!! :rockin:

Post results!!!!

Well?????? Inquiring minds want to know!

The hop oils are probably gone, so at best you will have a light-weight bitter. Worst case, oxidation.

Why do I feel like the kid in the playground being dared to stick his tongue on the cold tetherball pole?

I am chilling it right now and should have an update tomorrow (have to work tonight).

Hardball said:

Why do I feel like the kid in the playground being dared to stick his tongue on the cold tetherball pole?

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I triple dog dare you!

Yuri_Rage said:

I triple dog dare you!

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"Schwartz created a slight breach of etiquette by skipping the triple dare and going right for the throat! "

Ok, I chilled this for a few days and poured it carefully into a glass. Pretty much was all head and little beer. I tried to take a sip but the smell was pretty over-powering!

As the mythbusters would say this one was busted-summer ales don't last for 3 years in bottles in a garage.

Points for going for it, and nothing to say of bowing to peer pressure.....Say how tall is your garage roof??? just joking