Question about use by dates

[Spineshade]

So i made a Mr beer a last year .This weekend I was at a tag sale and came across a "craft a brew" gallon glass jug kit. So i figure I can clean my me beerbeer bottles to bottle from that. But the question I have is that the best buy date is almost 2 years ago on the mix. I know best buy days are different from expiration dates but would this be safe to use lol
Thanks

 

[homebrewer_99]

IMO, that would be hard to say. Use your best judgement.

I always use the "When in doubt, toss it out" method. There's no reason to invest time and money in something that may or may not fail or make you sick.

 

[IslandLizard]

Is that a jug with malt extract or sterilized condensed wort? Does it have instructions with it?

It may be OK, won't kill you or make you sick, but chances are it won't be the best beer you've ever tasted either. Flavor may have suffered from long time storage and exposure to light.

I'd say you're better off brewing beer from all fresh malt extract, and use no sugar ("booster") or if you do, very sparsely.

 

[bpgreen]

The yeast is unlikely to be any good.

If the extract is in a can, make sure it's not dented at any seams and make sure it's not bulging. If it's dented at a seam or bulging, it could be dangerous.

If it's not dented at a seam or bulging, the kit will likely make beer, but it will not be the same as it was designed. If it was stored someplace relatively cool, it will be a bit darker and probably won't ferment as fully as it would when fresh. If it was stored warm, these changes will be more noticeable.

I used to do partial mash brews with really fresh LME (recently made the switch to all grain). A while back, I bought some clearance kits once that were slightly past their best by dates. I was very disappointed in the results and won't do that again.