Old brew!

I was at my brother in laws fathers house yesterday for supper and he gave me a whole bunch of his old brewing equipment. With it he parted with a bunch of his really old nice bottles. Now her is the question, he stopped home brewing about 25years ago. I'm really curious if it's still good. Any thoughts?

 

Do you mean the equipment or the bottles or was there brew in the bottles? I'd say the equipment is still good. You might have to give it a good cleaning and sanitizing, but I can't see any reason why it wouldn't be good.

 

Noon.. The beer. He had a couple dozen beer bottles with beer in them.. Would it still be good? Would kind of be neat if it were for New Years!

 

I would definitely try them. They're not gonna kill you

 

+1 - they'll probably be highly oxidized depending on how they were stored, but that can give a sherry-like quality to dark beers. If they're gross, don't drink them!

 

I kind doubt the beer is drinkable. The only real way is to start opening them. Good luck.

 

If they do kill you be sure to reply back

I'm really interested the flavor after 25 years. Does he remember what type of beer they are?

 

Hmm this makes me want to open an 8 yr old German pils I've had on my shelf for a while...

 

He doesn't know the type.. Looks like a dark amber.. Probably some kind of Ale...

 

They were stored in an unfinished basement.. Not light... And really cool... Might just give it a shot!

 

I'm curious to hear how it taste after 25 years.

 

So whats the verdict? Did you try one.... kinda curious lol i would.

 

might as well give it a pint rather than a shot.

 

Well gents.. I tried.. Beautiful head, nice rich amber color, clear as can be... Little to no hop bitterness or aroma,very malty followed by a big bag of yuck!.... Metallic, slight mold flavor.. Just Yuck!

 

LMAO! thats awesome. At least you tried it.

 

At least you tried. Now we all know!

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Oh, well... you can always reuse the bottles... just wash 'em really well!

 

I would give it a shot, pour one out into a glass and check the smell and look for chunks and really bad cloudiness in the liquid. IF it smells bad and looks like cottage cheese or something, chuck it.

 

That had to taste like malty ipicac on the back after 25 years. Dump it in the head. Then soak the bottles in a bucket of PBW for a couple days,then scrub with a bottle brush. Rinse with hot water & drain on bottle tree. Maybe even sanitize with Starsan before going on bottle tree.

 

As for the old brewing equipment - it is EXTREMELY dangerous. Even a hazard to the landfill. I am authorized by the state and feds to properly dispose of it in such a way that no harm will be done. I'll send you my address and you can ship it to me for careful and proper disposal

 

Congrats on the trial. Sorry it didn't turn out so good. Time to rinse out the rest and fill them with your own.

 

I'm kind of curious what 25 year old brewing equipment looks like. Stone carboys?

 

Some beers are meant to age. Thomas Hardy's ale was stored for up to 25 years, I read that the high alcohol content (12+abv) was one reason it's able to be stored for such long periods.

 

Maybe it was just that one - try another!

 

Hey yeah, try just one mote to be sure

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Hmmm - 8 hours and no response ... ::whistles casually and walks in the opposite direction::

 

Haha! Ok will send them your way ASAP!

 

Not sick... No diareaha... Still alive. Thanks for the concern!

 

awesome! beer drinking is a great adventure