Old extract

[Brew kid]

New to the site and have a question. A friend of mine was in the hobby years ago and gave it up . I just purchased a number of items to learn to brew. He had some cans of extract with a date of 2002 and was wondering if I can use it to try and brew a batch and see if it comes out ok before I start to use fresh ingredients

 

[PCABrewing]

New to the site and have a question. A friend of mine was in the hobby years ago and gave it up . I just purchased a number of items to learn to brew. He had some cans of extract with a date of 2002 and was wondering if I can use it to try and brew a batch and see if it comes out ok before I start to use fresh ingredients

I had some old cans too and upon opening and tasting they were all bad. One even had a swollen can. The taste had a definite sour aspect to it. They were all stored at room temp.

My guess would be no.

Now dry extract (DME) has a much longer shelf life as long as it is stored in a cool and dry place.
I have used DME that was 8 years old and it smelled and tasted as good as a fresh bag. It had been stored in a refrigerator (freezer side). I'm sure that helped.

 

[Brew kid]

My friend said they were stored in a cold basement. Cans are not swollen.thanks for the answer,going to trash them

 

[Dynachrome]

I just did a batch. The beer has a tinny flavor, but it's fairly drinkable.

 

[Dynachrome]

The extract kit had been sitting on the local homebrew stores shelf for over 5 years for information sake.

 

[CharlaineC]

best to toss it

 

[z-bob]

If it smells okay and tastes at least okay-ish, I might use it for yeast starters. But many years ago I was brewing partial-mash beers and using LME for a kicker, and they tasted "cidery". I thought it was the tiny bit of sugar I was using for priming. Just recently figured out it was the 30 pound jug of LME I bought that was getting staler and staler and probably causing the twang.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I just did a batch. The beer has a tinny flavor, but it's fairly drinkable.

The extract kit had been sitting on the local homebrew stores shelf for over 5 years for information sake.

Dry or liquid extract?

eta: parallel topic: Metallic taste stout

 

[madscientist451]

I've used old extract, both LME and DME and if you value your time at all, just toss out the old stuff and get new, quality ingredients. Yeah, the old extract made beer, and I drank it, but it really wasn't very good, I just did it as an experiment and won't be doing it again.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

In the topic Metallic taste stout, I offered some ideas on avoiding fermenting / packaging wort made from stale LME.

From a information publishing perspective, "nothing new to see here" - the content is from the mid 2010s.

However, the information may have some value to home brewers that are getting started with extract.

IIRC, metallic taste is an off flavor associated with stale (oxidized, old) liquid extract (see BBR Aug 25 / Nov 17 2005 for a list of potential off flavors).

The book BYO Big Book of Homebrewing (1e, 2015, p 19?) offers a technique for assessing the quality of the extract (liquid or dry) on brew day. I've used this technique once (earlier this year) with a package of LME. I found that the technique works well for assessing the quality of LME before fermenting / packing wort made with stale LME.

"Packaged on" date for the product is a consideration; but be aware that improper storage or shipping may cause liquid extract to go stale quickly (link to 2016 article).

DME doesn't oxidize as quickly as LME and appears to be more tolerant to hot storage/shipping conditions. I've use 18 month old DME on occasion without issue or concern.

Like any other cooking home brewing ingredient: buy it fresh, store it right, and confirm it's fresh when used.

 

[Martys1]

New to the site and have a question. A friend of mine was in the hobby years ago and gave it up . I just purchased a number of items to learn to brew. He had some cans of extract with a date of 2002 and was wondering if I can use it to try and brew a batch and see if it comes out ok before I start to use fresh ingredients

It will be beer, but for all the effort, I’d toss it, I’ve done at least 3 batches with old cans and it was a waste of time, it was drinkable but tasted weird,
Either go online and get a fresh can, bag , whatever…..

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

buy it fresh, store it right, and confirm it's fresh when used.

 

[BQ&W]

Life's too short to drink expired extract beer!

 

[bwible]

 

[KeizerBrewr]

I wouldn't brew beer with it, but would likely use it for starters if it isn't bad.

 

[Dancy]

Life's too short to drink expired extract beer!

EXACTLY. Let other people “experiment” as some have said and hear about their results!

 

[Dynachrome]

best to toss it

It's not that bad.

Dry or liquid extract?

eta: parallel topic: Metallic taste stout

Liquid malt extract, LME.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

It's not that bad.

IIRC, on that section of the "off flavors wheel" (1 is weak, 5 is strong): 'tinny' is a 2 and 'ball point pen' is a 4.

It's likely that the flavor won't age out. But if you're not in a hurry to reuse the bottles/keg, consider giving it a try.

Blending with a different beer may dilute the flavor so it's no longer noticeable. For a low cost approach, check out Metallic taste stout for an idea that would involve just one bottle of the different beer.
Also you might be able to "cover up" the tinny flavor by dry hopping in the bottle (maybe with some aged hops ).

 

[bwible]

It's not that bad.

Liquid malt extract, LME.

Not that bad? The can is 20 years old. Sheesh

 

[Dynachrome]

I have like 400 empty bottles.

It will never be Revy's 50 year beer.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/thread...l-5-year-aged-barleywine-recipe.195096/page-9

 

[Dynachrome]

 

[Dynachrome]

"Thing Two" is almost gone. It has a very slight sour. Is has a lot of carbonation. ..maybe a little bit bready tasting?

 

[Dynachrome]

The cloudiness came from pouring. It's clear in the bottle. I disturbed the trub on the bottom.

 

[Dynachrome]

It'a better than just bearable.

 

[smata67]

Yea, dump it. It's like asking a 72 year old to your high school prom. She might have been pretty hot at some point, but by now, a bit worn at the sides.

 

[VikeMan]

LME isn't really fresh even when it's "fresh." 5 year old or 20 year old LME? Just no.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

In my (somewhat limited) experiences with LME, I've found that wort color /1/ (at the start of the boil) is a good indicator of an enjoyable (or dump-able) beer.

While the process 'works for me', maybe there is a better definition of 'fresh' and a perhaps better way to measure it earlier or more accurately in the process.

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/1/ follow the links to the links to the topics in #10 (above).