How Long Will Ingredients Keep?

[Skarekrough]

Had a friend of a friend notice that I was brewing the other night.

Today he drops by with a grocery bag full of "stuff" that he had purchased a few years ago to make an Imperial Stout and never got around to it. he has since abandoned the hobby entirely.

By "stuff" I mean all the grains, extracts, hops, etc. It's all in airtight bags.

None of it looks like it has gone bad; no mold or bugs or holes.

It's probably a solid $100 worth of materials. Be a shame if it were all to go to waste.

How long will this stuff keep?

 

[JonK331]

I'd probably brew it but the grains are stale, extract darkened and possibly oxidized, hops have lost potency and are also possibly oxidized, and I wouldn't use the yeast at all. Get some fresh yeast whatever you do. Brew it though, won't hurt to try.

 

[baystatebrew]

i say brew it. the hops are as far from fresh as you can get, probably, but who knows. definitely spend a couple bucks on some new yeast. i am not a chemist or a biologist but it just seems gross to use yeast that's been sitting around for who knows how long and who knows where and under what conditions. but other than that i say take 2-3 hours, brew it up, let it sit for a month, and see what happens.

 

[munche]

Adding to the "get some yeast and brew it"

Odds are you'll get some pretty good beer. For free. Which is all one can ask for in life.

 

[COLObrewer]

It ALL depends on storage conditions.

 

[neomantra]

+1 to the point about it depending on storage conditions. if he had it in either a refrigerator or a pretty cool basement then it's possible the hops are ok. agreed with the other posters you should get new yeast for sure. when you say extract, do you mean liquid or dry? if it's year old liquid malt extract and it wasn't stored in a fridge you might not want to bother. you'll likely get that ballpoint pen ink flavor that comes from stale LME. if it's DME you're probably fine though as it has a longer shelf life.

 

[COLObrewer]

. . . . . you'll likely get that ballpoint pen ink flavor . . . . . .

Were you that kid that colored his tongue with an ink pen in 1st grade? I always wondered if you were still alive.:rockin:

 

[neomantra]

lol...fortunately i've never actually experienced this flavor from LME or my actual pens. but i've often wondered exactly how that description found its way into all the homebrewing books i've read.