Out Of Date Kits

[Old_Bob]

Last night I read a thread where someone mentioned that the malt extract in the tins of kits lasts pretty much well beyond a Best Before End date.

Spookily enough tonight, whilst clearing out a cupboard, I found and old Wherry kit with a Best Before date of end Sept 2015.

Do you think it's worth a try with fresh yeast ????

Also found a Pear Cider kit with a Best Before sometime in 2014, possible still to have a crack at this one as well ?????

If I'm wasting my time I'll just lob them.

Keen you hear your answers.

Many thanks.

 

[Slid]

The kits will be fine. Just bob down to Wilko, the LHBS or so on and get some yeast that is a little less likely to have died on you.

I mean. Sept 2015 - not going to be much different to the day it was canned, in truth.

 

[Razor]

May as well give it a go. Tinned stuff is supposed to last for years anyway. Best before date is corporate a$$ covering.


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[EVVO]

My grandaughter bought me a kit at a car boot. Cant remenber if she paid 5p, 10p or 50p. It was about 3 years out of date. I replaced the yeast and brewed it. I couldn't tell any difference from a kit from the LHBS. I would say go ahead it will only cost a couple of quid. Whats to loose?

 

[sdt7618]

I am currently drinking a milestone shine on kit that I git cheap that was months out of date, used the kit yeast, dry hopped with some cascade, one of the best kits I have made.

 

[The Idiot]

LME is usually pasteurised before canning and remains in a vaccuum until opened. Unless a tin is blown or rusted through (surface is okay) it's good to go.

I moved earlier this year and at the back of a cupboard i found some tinned stuff I'd bought in France years ago. Best Before was 2001, a mere 15 years earlier. The goods included mi cuit (half cooked) stuff, but once I'd moved I cracked open a bottle of wine and scoffed the lot. We both enjoyed them immensely, such is the power of cans.

Just buy new yeast and you won't even notice the difference!

 

[DoctorMick]

LME is usually pasteurised before canning and remains in a vaccuum until opened. Unless a tin is blown or rusted through (surface is okay) it's good to go.

I moved earlier this year and at the back of a cupboard i found some tinned stuff I'd bought in France years ago. Best Before was 2001, a mere 15 years earlier. The goods included mi cuit (half cooked) stuff, but once I'd moved I cracked open a bottle of wine and scoffed the lot. We both enjoyed them immensely, such is the power of cans.

Just buy new yeast and you won't even notice the difference!

With that in mind, should canned beer last better than bottled?

 

[Pfeffer]

Yes, but not because of that. It's more the because of the lack of exposure to light.

Bottled (glass, not PET) and canned beer practically have the same conditions; an air tight, pressurized and low oxygen environment.

In the Cuba crisis pre-WW2 canned goods were distributed to US civillians. They didn't use to have a shelf life back then. I once tested a 1976 german ration, did not get sick - it tested horrible though (metallic). Most likely because the acidic food reacted with the metal.

However that stuff contains preservatives, sugar, salt and acids so with regards to osmotics, that Environment is like hell for micro organisms. These day I wouldn't test a ration that is out of date for 2 years, simply because they focus on health and taste too much. It makes sense if a soldier eats it daily for months on end, but for an occasional eater it doesn't make a difference.

Back to the point; reduced wort / extract is also an unfavorable environment for pathogens. It should keep way longer then the best before date, even without preservatives (which would kill/stress your yeast).

However even with regular canned goods, taste does change over time. If they have been properly stored I'd give it a shot. Just check if it looks/smells good and have an alternative at the ready.

 

[Old_Bob]

Wow that's a fantastic response.

Go'ers they are then.......:thumb:

 

[Lesinge]

I made some tens years out of date geordie scottish export and a coopers lager. The geordie was pretty horrible and I killed the lager because I tried using hops for the first time (a few years ago) and biled them and added them to the wort. I managed to make it taste
I've poison. I still have lots of bottles of the stuff and every now and again I open one in the hope that it tastes good...it doesn't. However,nth at was my mess up so give it a go.in fact I have have since made two beers that have been out of date by a year and changed the yeast and they were good. I have a pear cider that is nearly a year out of date and will make it but am going to use Mangrove Jacks cider yeast.