Need (want?) HELP with an OLD OLD brew

[svleer]

Hi, Everyone. I hope no one but me has ever done this, but if you have, or have any ideas, I'd love to hear them.

About 18 years ago, I cooked up a barley wine and like a good brewer, poured it into a bucket to let it ferment. Fermentation stuck (a few times). Added more yeast, added sugar. Probably did a few other things I forget. Then we moved and since I couldn't give it up, the bucket came with us. It sat in the cellar of the new house for 15 years, until I needed a food grade bucket in which to make sauerkraut. That would be today. Time to give this stuff up.

Well, I still can't seem to give it up. Opened the bucket. The stuff is the color of molasses, consistency of simple syrup, and smells alcoholic, not at all effervescent (duh). Measured SG, but of course I can't find my notes from 18 years ago, so 1.06 doesn't mean much. (Did I say, this barley wine was my last brewing project?) I poured 3 gallons of it into gallon jars. Seems I still can't give it up. There was about an inch of sediment in the bottom that washed out nicely. The rest of the bucket will take some work to clean up - VERY sticky.

Has anyone else done anything like this? Does anyone think I should taste this stuff? Does anyone think I should do anything with this (other than pouring it down the drain) and if so what?

Thank you for whatever. I hope you can tell I'm laughing all the way, so crude and snide remarks are probably OK, too. -svleer

 

[TonyG]

Well, it is probably a tad bit oxidized, but give it a taste. At worst, it will just taste bad, and hey, you never know until you taste it. Please give us some tasting notes.

Also, for the bucket, I would use hot water and a scoop or two of oxyclean free and let it soak overnight.

 

[timrox1212]

18 year old beer?? Man that sounds horrible and awesome all at the same time. Try some and see I guess.


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[Weezy]

FG is 1.06????

 

[ChefRex]

Of course you should taste it!!

If it tastes reasonable I would cut the viscosity a bit with clean water add some fresh yeast and bottle.

Zero experience with this so YMMV

 

[HumulusHead]

FG is 1.06????

Wouldn't doubt a little evaporation after 18 years ha

But now I'm thinking the alcohol would go first...

Please taste this!!!


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[bford]

I probably would bottle it no matter what.....ha...

 

[mkyl428]

i have nothing to add but this is interesting. Pic?

 

[MikeBergan]

I know someone else on HBT said this... and I can see it going through the OP's mind... can't find the specific quote but it paraphrases something like:

"Can I drink it? I mean, I'm gonna anyway, but is it safe?"

 

[JohnSand]

Think up a clever name and sell it for thousands?
And throw out the bucket, it will be easier to buy another.
Oh, yeah, the beer? Mix it with something tasteless (light beer) before drinking. On the other hand, without alcohol (evaporated) or a sealed container, it just might be lethal. So, mix it with vodka and test it on your neighbor, boss, or mother-in-law.
Then think up a clever name and sell it for thousands.

 

[HumulusHead]

Guys, we may have killed him.

We are all accomplices in a murder now.

Wish he woulda told us how it tasted at least


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[JohnSand]

Laughed out loud.
It's criminal negligent homicide at worst. Reckless endangerment, probably. I've been married twice, so I get off with time served.

 

[number40fan]

Think up a clever name and sell it for thousands?
And throw out the bucket, it will be easier to buy another.
Oh, yeah, the beer? Mix it with something tasteless (light beer) before drinking. On the other hand, without alcohol (evaporated) or a sealed container, it just might be lethal. So, mix it with vodka and test it on your neighbor, boss, or mother-in-law.
Then think up a clever name and sell it for thousands.

I think they already have stuff called "paint stripper".

 

[passedpawn]

I've had very very old oxidized beer. I'm guessing it tastes like soy sauce.

 

[DrunkleJon]

Yeah, 15 years on the yeast cake you probably got more than a little autolosys. I would still try it though.

 

[Thejbj13]

Think up a clever name and sell it for thousands?

Mickeys?

 

[HumulusHead]

Mickeys?

-1

Mickeys is a fine malt liquor



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[svleer]

OK. Thanx for all the feedback so far. I'm not dead yet. Since you asked. Here are some pix of the brew in gallon jars, the bucket lid with airlock and some of the 15-year old crud removed, and the inside of the bucket after sitting several days with water and soap.

Since I have a huge canning project to complete today, spouse and I will refrain from tasting this until the weekend. If it kills me, I want to have those pickles, kraut and dilled beans working for the survivors, if any. I'll report back. --sarah

 

[MikeBergan]

Time to get a new bucket... that one has had it

 

[cernst151]

OMG, I'm actually excited to hear the end results of this. There are certainly commercial examples of old ales out there that have been aged for decades but I can't imagine keeping it in the bucket on the yeast cake is good for the flavor. Also, if the airlock was in there I imagine it was completely dried out so you were getting air transfer.

Congratulations you may have just created the first homebrewed aged barleywine with wild yeast. I really can't wait to hear what it tastes like. I imagine it will be terrible but I have some hope. I'm with everyone else here. It would be a damn shame not to pitch fresh yeast, maybe water it down, prime and bottle it regardless of how it tastes now. I've had plenty of beers that tasted terrible before they went in the bottle and wonderful afterwards.

 

[svleer]

-1

Mickeys is a fine malt liquor



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Thanx for the "link" to Mickeys. I wasn't aware of this lovely brew, but its reviews fit perfectly with my visit to Miller in Milwaukee last year. WORST brewery tour EVER. Everything was so unpleasant, from the tour guides to the operation to the samples that it almost scared us away from touring Budweiser in St. Louis. Glad we had the courage to try again. The Bud tour is terrific!

 

[mkyl428]

Update? Did you try it? How was it?