Coopers kits(5) Pilsner Five Years Expired

[MichaelScime]

Ok guys I have 5 coopers pilsner kits that are 5 years expired.

These will be my first brews

I need to replace the yeast

Is it worth?

 

[Teromous]

The sensible person inside me, talking to a brand new brewer, wants to tell you not to make this because the expired malt could end up in a bad beer that would ruin your first brewing experience.

The adventurous person inside me, who loved Swiss Family Robinson and Robinson Crusoe as a kid, wants you to get some new yeast and brew all 5 of these kits.

 

[MichaelScime]

ahhh man thats where I'm at toooo, see if its crap beer I can just through a huge party with 25 gallons of beer

 

[Clonefan94]

Learn from this guy:

I know you don't have MR. Beer, but this is a great look into expired ingredients.


[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g09b17V4NWQ[/ame]

 

[roastquake]

As an overly frugal person, I say go for it. Just don't be discouraged if it's bad, in the future you will likely make great beers with fresh ingredients. My problem with the canned kits is the metallic taste from the can itself, and after five years, the tinny taste may have really leached into the malt big time. Where the kits given to you or did you buy them at a discount?

 

[MichaelScime]

Watching, i contacted the company and they said its fine but may be odd I'm just wondering if people know what they said replace the year il do this

 

[MichaelScime]

Free

 

[MichaelScime]

as well his kit its VINTAGE mines 1/4 vintage so I'm not sure :/

 

[MichaelScime]

and he didn't use hops
he used coconuts (face palm)

 

[Conman13]

I would strongly encourage you to go and buy a new kit. It's really not worth the time and effort to make a beer that has a very small chance of ending up tasting good. IMO you are setting yourself up to make a bad beer. Fresher ingredients will yield a much better result.

Edit: It might be good to brew a batch of two of these kits just to get some practice. I can definitely see a benefit to doing that. Then, once you get the process down, go a buy a fresh one and make a much better beer.

 

[MichaelScime]

This is what I was thinking, I will brew these 5, bottle them and just party with them when I get back too school. and maybe make another 4 and keg them, or bottle them not sure yet

 

[unionrdr]

Just a lil FYI here. Cooper's cans have a white liner in them. All the one's I ever used did. so it's highly unlikely to get any tinny flavors from them. It'll brew up darker than normal as well. Maybe add a 3lb bag pf plain extra light DME to each one with some German hops to freshen them up a bit. I brewed a 2 year old Cooper's OS lager once. Came out looking & tasting like a Salvator doppelbock.

 

[MichaelScime]

Well thats good to know and idk I might just go with what I have now and see if its good I won't mind too much on taste, its just for the practise to get 5 simple brews under my belt before I go into an intermediate level brew with specialty grains and such

 

[dand]

If it were me i would buy 5 different yeasts and make an expirement of it to see the effects of different yeasts.

 

[MichaelScime]

Thats a neet idea!

 

[kh54s10]

I would brew up a couple of new kits, (so you will have some good beer) harvest the yeast from these, so basically the yeast is free. Then brew them, hope for the best and prepare for the worst!

I would only spend the $ on propane for the hope that the outcome might be good.

 

[MichaelScime]

is the coopers kit just malt, do I need hops too? like I got the can is that all i need the can and yeast

 

[unionrdr]

Those cans are pre-hopped. You usually add their BE1 or 2 to them to brew them up. Check out my recipes for ideas on how I used them with plain DME & some hops.

 

[roastquake]

Just a lil FYI here. Cooper's cans have a white liner in them. All the one's I ever used did. so it's highly unlikely to get any tinny flavors from them. It'll brew up darker than normal as well. Maybe add a 3lb bag pf plain extra light DME to each one with some German hops to freshen them up a bit. I brewed a 2 year old Cooper's OS lager once. Came out looking & tasting like a Salvator doppelbock.

Thanks for clarifying unionrdr, I must have been thinking of the Munton's kits I tried that came out tinny

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah, Munton's & some of the lesser known brands don't coat the inside of the cans. Cooper's does though.

 

[MichaelScime]

Well at the school of horticulture where my friend attends hops grow and maybe I could use fresh hops? What time are they usually ready to be picked

 

[unionrdr]

When they're used fresh, it's called wet hopping. I've never grown hops, but they should be full, light green & paperie.

 

[MichaelScime]

oh man I just thought about it my friend probably knows

 

[MichaelScime]

ok so Im getting 4 kits il buy 2 oz of hops for each and different kinds any suggestions?

 

[kh54s10]

ok so Im getting 4 kits il buy 2 oz of hops for each and different kinds any suggestions?

You really need to know what kinds of hops go with the style.

Since the extract is pre-hopped you are just guessing as to what is still there. You can use a bittering hop at the beginning of the boil, which is usually not needed with pre hopped cans. Then add flavor and aroma hops toward the end of the boil.

Here is a chart you can use: https://byo.com/resources/hops

Typically high Alpha Acid hops are for bittering and low are for flavor and aroma. Some are good for both.

Again with adding to pre hopped extract you are just guessing. And how much you would use also is determined by style.

I suggested prior to reuse yeast for no cost and hope for the best. Again, I would not put much money into these brews. Maybe experiment with one first so that you don't waste time on the rest if it turns out bad.

 

[MichaelScime]

Well I'm not sure what to get then :/

 

[unionrdr]

With pilsners or lagers, the typical hops would be Czech saaz, or the noble German hops with their herbal spiciness. Like spalt, hallertauer mittelfruh, etc.

 

[MichaelScime]

ok thanks man

 

[NJbeer]

double up on the cans so you dont need to add table sugar or DME (for the first batch, use two cans for the 5gallons and dont add any sugar or additional extract). The Australians do this

 

[IslandLizard]

^+1 on the doubling up, 6 pounds of extract in a 5 gallon batch, gets you better flavor. Sugar makes your beer thin and harsh.

Pretty much any hop will make good beer, alas maybe not to style. And you don't have to make a Pilsner with those cans.

Since Pilsners require cool fermentation temps, kinda hard in the summer without a controlled fermentation fridge, an ale would be easier. Dig up an ale recipe that uses some steeping grains to get some fresh flavor in that beer. If you have access to those free fresh hops I'd make a pale ale or IPA.