Is my malt extract kit bad?

[grimaudio]

I just opened a brewferms diablo malt extract kit and heard a hissing noise, then i looked at the expiration date and found it expired in 06'. The malt seemed to smell ok.. so im not sure if its bad or not. Will i die or get sick if i drink this stuff after its done fermenting? i feel pretty dumb for not checking the expiration date before hand.. not much i can do about it now. Thanks in advance!:rockin:

 

[McGarnigle]

I doubt you'll get sick, but it probably won't taste very good.

 

[Hex23]

Welcome to the boards! Surely you won't get sick, you did boil it didn't you I suppose the malt extract might be oxidized, but I bet it will still make at least decent beer.

 

[earwig]

It might not come out that great tasting but you won't get sick. I would at least get new yeast... What was hissing?

 

[Hex23]

Let's hope the hissing was the vacuum being released. The can wasn't bulging was it?

 

[grimaudio]

Thanks for the quick replys!

It might not come out that great tasting but you won't get sick. I would at least get new yeast... What was hissing?

The can when i opened it.

Let's hope the hissing was the vacuum being released. The can wasn't bulging was it?

I feel like a total idiot, but.. i think it was.. which really scares me because i dont want to get botulism or something nasty.

 

[Clann]

From 06? I think I would chuck it, in the trash that is

 

[Hex23]

All I can offer is that there is plenty of debate on these these boards about whether beer can harbor human pathogens, including botulism. I'd do some research first before deciding, but ultimately the decision has to be yours.

 

[Revvy]

First and foremeost, there is no debate as to whether or not homebrew can harbor pathogens. It can't!!!!!!

So get that idiotic notion out of your head!!!

Nothing pathogenic can grow in beer, so nothing in homebrew can make you sick. You can't get food poisoning or anything like that. In fact beer was brewed and used in place of water just becasue it was safer usually than the water.

I wrote this awhile ago and it's been posted all through here. It was written for an old thread. But the information is something you all need to know.

Ok for the sake of all the noobs on here, who are terrified that one wrong look at their fermenter and it is going to turn poisonous and kill them,

Get it straight people, no known pathogens can grow in your beer....nothing in your beer can kill you. Or make you sick!!!!!

In fact it was because water was often dangerous to drink that brewing became popular to begin with, because the brewing process killed most pathogens including e-coli

That's why the even brewed table beers, the third runnings from a partigyle session so that the children could have a drink that was safe to consume....

I came across this from a pretty well known and award winning homebrewer railing against a fellow brewer (it was on one of those "color coded" brewboards where they are a little less friendly than we are.) I just cut and pasted it and stuck it in a file...here it is.

Can you get a PATHOGEN from beer. No. NO *NO* Did I make that clear? You have a ZERO chance of pathogens in beer, wine, distilled beverages. PERIOD!

Pathogens are described as organisms that are harmful and potentially life threatening to humans. These are some 1400+ known species overall encompasing viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and helminths. Of that group, we are only interested in those that can be foodborne. Quite simply, if it can't survive in food, it isn't in beer. That knocks out all but bacteria and fungi. Viruses need very specific circumstances to be passed around... like on the lip of a glass or bottle, not the beer in it. **Ahhh...CHOOO!**

Pathogens as a rule are very fastidious beasts. Meaning that they want very specific temperatures, acidity, nutrients and other conditions to thrive.

Bacteria that *could* live in wort, cannot survive even a little bit of fermentation. There are several reasons for this. One is in the 'magic' of hops. It is the isomerized alpha acids that provide a preservative effect to the beer, which happens to inhibit pathogens! Good deal for fresh wort!

Another reason is the drop in pH from fermentation. Next, yeast emit their own enzymes and byproducts, all in an effort to make the environment hostile to other creatures. The major one is alcohol, of course, but their enzymes will break down less vigorous organisms and they become sources of trace nutrition. Now the latter is very minor compared to the effect of alcohol, but it exists! Most of the time these enzymes work on the wort, not organisms until late in the process. Good deal for beer! ...uh, wine too.

Oh, Botulism specifically... did you know that this is an anaerobic pathogen? It's toxin is one of the few that is broken down by boiling. Did you know tht it is strongly inhibited by isomerized alpha acids, even in water? Since fresh wort has a healthy amount of oxygen in it, the beastie cannot even get started, then once the O2 is used up, it doesn't have a chance against the hops or the yeast.

All that is left are a handful of acid producing bacteria that'll ruin a batch of beer. Overall, there are less than 200 organisms that can survive in beer and lend flavor effects. None of these for very long, or very often. Lambic being the sole exception, and if pathogens *could* survive, that'd be the style where you find 'em.

Engrave this in your mind, and tell your fellow homebrewing buddies to ignore idiocy like this thread....If something toxic could come from our homebrewing, it wouldn't be a legal hobby!!!!! It would be like distilling.....illegal.

Don't forget, we had to go through a hellova lot of hurdles to get it re-legalized, 40 years after prohibition was rescinded...If it weren't safe then it wouldn't be happening for us.

Also, remember, we're NOT doing anything different than the big brewers are doing...We make beer the same way, with the same processes and ingredients that the commercial and micro breweries do....only on a smaller scale. Just keep that in perspective, we're not making poison, even ACCIDENTALLY. We're making food.

Actually we are making something safer than food. As canners know, or picnickers with potato salad, sometimes FOOD can turn on you. Not so with beer, wine, cider OR mead. The were meant to be safe in times when even water was dangerous. Even an ifected beer is not pathogenic to humans...it might be nasty but usually the nasti-ness would prevent us from even bringing it to out lips to begin with.

Capice???? THere is no debate, just the facts, and the truth, and that is that NOTHING PAGONIC INCUDING BOTULISM AND GROW IN BEER!!!!!

There's historical precident that even before the understanding of germ theory there still was limited understanding about the antiseptic qualities of beer, "The Good, The Bad, and the Belly: The Facts About Ancient Beer."

Early evidences of beer existence have been found in Iran and Iraq and date back to around 3500 BC, and we know that the Egyptians and Nubians also favoured the drink. The Nubians most likely borrowed the Egyptian recipe of fermenting barley. Barley, a cereal grain, is nowadays used in some health food, and is known for its vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Analysis of modern beer has shown that hops contain antioxidants, which might protect against cancer.

In 2005, research showed that Nubians, in what is now Sudan, also used beer as antibiotic. In bones found in North Africa, anthropologists discovered traces of the antibiotic tetracycline, a substance used nowadays to treat acne and urinary infection. According to the National Geographic, Nubian beer was “made from grain contaminated with the bacteria streptomycedes, which produces tetracycline”. The drinkers were probably not aware of the benefits of their beverage. The researcher “believes the tetracycline protected the Nubians from bone infections, as all the bones he examined are infection free.” Recent research at at King’s College and St Thomas’ Hospitals in London has shown that beer could limit the risk of osteoporosis. The ethanol in the beer suppresses the hormones responsible for bone loss even better than calcium.

The Egyptians also believed beer to be helpful in fighting gum infections, and it was used as part of recipes for ailments such as snakebite. On the other bank of the Mediterranean, Hippocrates, the Greek “father of medecine”, thought it could bring fever down and had healing properties. The presence of alcohol in the beverage could explain why the Greeks (and the Egyptians) used it on wounds.

Now as to your outdated extract. There is nothing wrong with using it either, it is just sugar. The only thing is that it may have a metaliic taste to it, it may be darker, and therefore have a tad less fermentability, and it may not taste all that fresh, but it will still ferment, and still make beer. It probably won't be anything like it was intented, but that doesn't mean it will be bad...and it won't make you sick.

Please the most important thing I can stress about this whole brewing/fermentation thing, and I know it's all big and scary to some of you, but you can't make anything that can harm you, even if you use old ingredients or make a mistake. the only "debate" about this comes from is ignorance, there's no facts behind it.....relax about that.

 

[mxwrench]

I would suggest not using the old extract. My roomate has tried buying the extract that was a little past its prime to save a little money a few times. NOT worth it, the beer picks up a bad molasses and metallic taste which trust me does not taste very good. I heard a podcast with the main guy over at Breiss Malting, the # 1 thing he suggests when using extract is to make sure its FRESH or off flavors will surly appear.

 

[K5MOW]

I just opened a brewferms diablo malt extract kit and heard a hissing noise, then i looked at the expiration date and found it expired in 06'. The malt seemed to smell ok.. so im not sure if its bad or not. Will i die or get sick if i drink this stuff after its done fermenting? i feel pretty dumb for not checking the expiration date before hand.. not much i can do about it now. Thanks in advance!:rockin:

I would send it back and ask for a new kit.

Roger

 

[grimaudio]

Thanks everyone (especially Revvy) for putting my mind at ease. I'll tell you how the brew turns out when its done. Thanks again. Cheers!