Eight year old beer still in carboy (pic)

[JONNYROTTEN]

I've been thinking about the smell and how it smells familiar. I think I figured it out.

It smells a lot like brown sugar. If you have some on hand Give it a whiff and that's pretty close to what I have.
Taste wise it has the flavor on a much lower level than the smell.

I guess it kinda makes sense as it was an Octoberfest that has a carmely taste

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

My only real concern I guess would be mold at this point that I'm now nervous about. I don't need to be ingesting mold and get respiratory issues and whatever else it could bring

 

[Jayjay1976]

Good call on the yeast cake. Didn't even look at it.
Looks pretty nasty.
I "think" years back it had some funky lard like skin on top that was holding steady for a long time till I moved it a long time ago and it dropped out...I could be remembering wrong. It kinda rings a bell type thing. It doesn't appear like anything growing in it

What do you think of it?
View attachment 556861

I dunno, that looks better than I would have expected. If you weren't immediately revolted by the taste, I'd say try to carb and chill it. Might be tasty!

On a side note, I've heard of people getting sick from improperly kept kombucha; though after 8 years any mold or whatever may be long dead, the toxins might linger. OTOH, you have a source of moisture there that alone could harbor nasties. Not to mention, creepy crawlies that might lie embedded in the muck.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

. Not to mention, creepy crawlies that might lie embedded in the muck.

Well...I was just worried about the mold now I'm envisioning "Creepy crawlies"
in "the muck" like walkin through the black muck at low tide
I think my nerves might just make this a dumper even though it doesn't "seem" bad

 

[ESBrewer]

If it is not vinegary, most of the alcohol has probably evaporated before it has reacted to form acid. I don't believe this beer has much alcohol left, given that fermenter has been open for years. You could drink a few liters and report whether u got drunken or not.. Did it lose a lot of volume during the years, not very much because the fermenter is semi full ?

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

If it is not vinegary, most of the alcohol has probably evaporated before it has reacted to form acid. I don't believe this beer has much alcohol left, given that fermenter has been open for years. You could drink a few liters and report whether u got drunken or not.. Did it lose a lot of volume during the years, not very much because the fermenter is semi full ?

So if it lost alcohol would a gravity reading reflect that with a high reading? I would think so

 

[ESBrewer]

Yes, but the lost volume (water as well as alcohol) would lead to concentration and thus probably higher gravity. So it would be hard to quantitatively analyze it by measuring gravity. Do u know the FG at the end of fermentation? If there has been bacteria or wild yeast during the years they could have affected gravity as well.

 

[RPh_Guy]

You can easily test for alcohol: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Milkscreen-Alcohol-Detector-Strips-Choose-your-Quantity/19717677

The 3-piece airlock obviously slowed evaporation significantly. I'd guess it's still alcoholic. FWIW I'd bottle/keg and drink it.

 

[Miraculix]

Of course bottle and drink it. What a question....

 

[sbsmann]

I'm guessing he's recovering nicely in IC after having his stomach pumped several times.

 

[bdogg171]

Bottle one up and send it to me, I’ll drink it and we’ll wait and see if I die or not.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

After a few other beers I had the balls to take a few good gulps and down the glass. Gotta say..not bad at all. I'm starting to feel confident in kegging...Gravity came in at 1.011 so there is alcohol present and this was an extract from back in the day so I would think I hit my OG

 

[lagerman71]

Well done that man!! No such thing as a bad batch, just lack of imagination!!

 

[leirbag]

I once had a 5 year old homebrew that I found like you. I drank it. It wasnt going to win any awards but it was drinkable. Came in handy when I found myself at home yearning for a drink and had Texas snow in day. Who knows what style it was, but it didnt matter.

 

[biochemedic]

HELL YEAH, OP!

 

[RPh_Guy]

...Gravity came in at 1.011 so there is alcohol present and this was an extract from back in the day so I would think I hit my OG

Fluid specific gravity in the context of brewing measures the amount of sugar in solution (not alcohol).
As ESBrewer mentioned, you simply can't use the FG in this situation to determine how much if any alcohol is present.

... But I think there probably is
Good find!

 

[Wyobrew22]

We will count this as a win for science op, good job! I say keg and try it.

 

[S-Met]

As Jayjay said, probably better to bottle and prime.

 

[lschiavo]

Screw bottling in any situation. I'd rather buy a new keg

 

[JohnSand]

If you are worried about your siphon, just pour it into the keg. I don't think you have to worry about oxidation.
All of the hops must have faded by now, which is probably why it is sweet.

 

[jrgtr42]

Although I have no idea what you would do with 5 gallons of malt vinegar.

A whole lot of fish & chips?
Salad dressing?

There *probably* isn't anything wrong with it - and there definitely wouldn't be any "creepie Crawleys" in the yeast at the bottom - if anything could get in there it likely would be floating at the top.

 

[Jayjay1976]

A whole lot of fish & chips?
Salad dressing?

There *probably* isn't anything wrong with it - and there definitely wouldn't be any "creepie Crawleys" in the yeast at the bottom - if anything could get in there it likely would be floating at the top.

Anything that fell in there would likely have floated... for 2,3,4 or maybe 5 years. But we're talking EIGHT YEARS. Whatever the OP does, rack it to keg or bottling bucket, he should carefully sift through the sludge afterwards looking for clues to what, if anything, may have once died in there. A few dead bugs would probably not be reason enough to dump it, but it's worth knowing what one is drinking.

 

[TANSTAAFB]

These are the threads that make HBT awesome! I have a few experiments laying around that I sample now and then. You already tasted it and it's not vinegar. Carb it up! If it's not sour or vinegary then it's not going to contaminate a keg. And if you're worried, o rings are cheap! I will pay for shipping to taste this beer carbed and bottled!

 

[ba-brewer]

@JONNYROTTEN hats off to you for having the courage and curiosity to actually drink it.

Looking at the pic in the first post the krausen ring looks dark in places, I am not sure if that is camera angle or an indication of previous mold growth. If it there was anything that looked even remotely like mold growth the experiment would of been done for me(not a fan of funky cheese). Also if the bottom of the first glass did not trigger a "I want another" response I am not sure I would keg it.

 

[Jayjay1976]

@JONNYROTTEN hats off to you for having the courage and curiosity to actually drink it.

Looking at the pic in the first post the krausen ring looks dark in places, I am not sure if that is camera angle or an indication of previous mold growth. If it there was anything that looked even remotely like mold growth the experiment would of been done for me(not a fan of funky cheese). Also if the bottom of the first glass did not trigger a "I want another" response I am not sure I would keg it.

Well put!

 

[user 125772]

I'm starting to see where @JONNYROTTEN got his name

 

[hambiguous]

I'm starting to see where @JONNYROTTEN got his name

I think we found a new BJCP style!

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

It is blacker on the krausen ring in one spot so maybe its mold and going back for another glass doesn't seem appealing. Not to mention I gave a sip to my wife (didn't tell her it was 8 years old from the basement ) She didn't like one bit...

So as fun as it was trying to resurrect this relic of a beer its going out to pasture...thanks for all the interest

 

[mongoose33]

Good to see you're still alive!

 

[bleme]

Good to see you're still alive!

I think he is in more danger of his wife finding out he used her as a guinea pig than the 8 year old Oktoberfest...