do mr. beer kits expire?

[mr jones]

i have inherited a mr. beer kit that i plan on using as an experimental batch kit and it came with 3 of the mr. beer malt cans. the old owner says its been ten years. i know the yeasties are gone but can the extract be used. i didn't see a date or anything on the cans? thanx a lot.

-nick

 

[camiller]

Canned LME will get darker with age and old LME has been said to give a soapy taste. That said I did a brew with 7 year old ingredients + added a couple lbs of fresh DME and although it was drinkable it didn't age well. IIRC each of those MR. Beer cans use one can + some amount of booster/sugar? If you don't have the booster I think I trY getting some DME to add with each can. Maybe 1 Lb? Which Mr. Beer kit? I have a couple of the "pilot brewery" that only made 1.25 Gallon batches, I don't think this model is even made anymore.

 

[ifishsum]

Hmm, all the ones I've seen have an ex-date printed on the bottom of the can. 10 years is a while, I think they will work but might not taste right. For experimentation, I'd say it can't hurt to try brewing them, do yourself a favor and don't use the booster packs. Substitute 1lb of light dry malt extract from the LHBS if you have one (or use 2 malt cans for one recipe if the flavors are similar), and of course use fresh yeast.