old ass extract homebrew safe to drink?

[domdom]

i randomly came across a really old bottle of extract homebrew i made probably 5-6 years ago. if i remember correctly it's a fermbrew abbey ale extract kit with some extra DME mixed it. this one the first two beers i ever made, both it the same, overly ambitious brew day. best case scenario is i'm guessing is it will just be okay, worse case is it might make me sick. any experience on if i should try it or pitch it? my only real desire to give it a shot is nostalgia of it being one of my first beers.

 

[GenIke]

Smell it and if it smells okay, then taste it. You're (probably) not going to die.

 

[MaryB]

If it doesn't have anything growing in it and it doesn't smell bad give it a taste. Not much in beer that can make you sick beyond barfing because it tastes rotten...

 

[Jasper18]

James May once sampled a beer that was bottled in 1869. Made him a bit sick. You should be ok to try it at least

 

[Qhrumphf]

As long as you pitched yeast and it actually fermented, you will be fine. Harmful bacteria can grow in wort. They cannot grow in beer. Now, other bacteria can still grow that may make it taste absolutely vile, but not that would actually harm you. Only way something harmful is going to get in there is if you put it there.

Long story short, if the only unusual factor is age, you will be fine to drink it from a safety standpoint.

It just might not taste good. Or depending on what the beer in question is, maybe it'll be phenomenal. If it was one of your first two beers, I'm assuming it'll be have rather unpleasant oxidation, but I could be wrong, and it could show the wonderful "aged" character that properly cellared beers get. Who knows.

 

[Aristotelian]

There is only one way to find out. Just make sure you have a valid will and all your affairs are in order...