Nothing ventured. The challenge is on!

[Fuzzbald]

So, here’s the background: Guy at work says “You brew beer, don’t you? I’ve got an old beer kit from years ago lying around, Will it be any good?” I said I very much doubt the yeast will still be alive, and to just crack the kit open and if it looks and smells ok, give it a try with a sachet of Wilko yeast or something. It transpires he’s never brewed and has no gear, so he said “i’ll Bring it in for you and you can try it out if you want?” Fearless soul that I am, I agreed. Today in my work locker I found a 1.8kg can of John Bull best bitter, best before date, wait for it.... July 2011!
So, my plan is in a couple of weeks I’ll try the yeast in a starter and see if there’s any life there. (Not holding out any hope there!). Then i’ll crack the can open and have a look and a sniff. Assuming there’s anything resembling extract in there I’ll knock up a biab mash with about 2.5 kilos of pale malt, make it up to around 6 gallons with the kit, Chuck in whatever hop pellets i’ve got lying about, boil it for an hour, cool, pitch either the miracle starter or a fresh sachet and see what comes out the other end! I reckon at worst I'll end up with 5gallons of dishwater, at best i’ll get something vaguely like a bitter...
Wish me luck!

 

[Drunkula]

Don't boil the kit.

 

[Fuzzbald]

Don't boil the kit.

I haven’t brewed from a kit for many years and never boiled them when I did. But i’m guessing that any hop flavours will be pretty much lost after 10 years, so my thinking is to treat it as a can of extract and try it as a partial mash. Pretty much flying blind and hoping for the best here!

 

[Didge]

The tin contents would've been pasteurised after sealing, so theoretically they will last for as long as the tin is intact. Other food tins have been opened after 100 years plus, and the contents have been quite safe.

I suspect the yeast may be well gone but who knows, its well worth trying to rehydrate it in a seperate jar, if just out of curiosity. Even if it needs a new sachet of yeast Im sure it will make something quite drinkable.

If the brew does go bad then at least you will have a few bottles for those unwelcome guests who only visit for the free beer

 

[Fuzzbald]

The tin contents would've been pasteurised after sealing, so theoretically they will last for as long as the tin is intact. Other food tins have been opened after 100 years plus, and the contents have been quite safe.

I suspect the yeast may be well gone but who knows, its well worth trying to rehydrate it in a seperate jar, if just out of curiosity. Even if it needs a new sachet of yeast Im sure it will make something quite drinkable.

If the brew does go bad then at least you will have a few bottles for those unwelcome guests who only visit for the free beer

Good point. It often pays to have a small stock of “Don’t come back!” beer lying around...

 

[VW911]

It surprises me that the yeast is always considered to be the "weakest link" in the fermenting of out of date kits. (Most of the malt will last for years, due to the production processes.) I have had this confirmed by (probably) the largest supplier of UK LME - they have to put a date on for (I suspect European) food safety regulations. The main problem is that the malt will darken over time.
As for yeast, they (don't know who, but read it somewhere!) have found 3,000 year old yeast in Egypt that was still viable...

 

[foxy]

I think that was the 3000 year old honey you are getting confused with.
The shipwreck yeast they have only just managed to revive, I'm sure the packet yeast from the kit will be able to be coaxed back with some sweet wort, provided it has been kept cool.

 

[Gerryjo]

I think that was the 3000 year old honey you are getting confused with.
The shipwreck yeast they have only just managed to revive, I'm sure the packet yeast from the kit will be able to be coaxed back with some sweet wort, provided it has been kept cool.

No there was also yeast recovered from an Egyptian vase/cooking vessel and made sourdough bread.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49262255

 

[Gerryjo]

Type something into Google and straight to your news feed.
https://www.the-scientist.com/image-of-the-day/image-of-the-day--baked-with-ancient-yeast-66320

 

[foxy]

I did, there is also a 5,000 year old beer yeast extracted from a pot.

 

[jof]

When I did something similar with a BBE 2012 in the summer, the wort was much darker than expected.
Also the hopping was off & I should have tried tasting the wort and adjusting with a hop tea.
The yeast in the supplied packet worked just fine.

 

[Fuzzbald]

I think that was the 3000 year old honey you are getting confused with.
The shipwreck yeast they have only just managed to revive, I'm sure the packet yeast from the kit will be able to be coaxed back with some sweet wort, provided it has been kept cool.

I suspect it hasn’t really been “kept” under any specific conditions. More likely “lobbed in the back of a cupboard or garage and forgotten about”.

 

[Fuzzbald]

When I did something similar with a BBE 2012 in the summer, the wort was much darker than expected.
Also the hopping was off & I should have tried tasting the wort and adjusting with a hop tea.
The yeast in the supplied packet worked just fine.

That’s pretty much what i’m expecting from reading other’s experiences of old kits. Hence the partial mash and “lob a few hop pellets in” plan.

 

[An Ankoù]

Don't be surprised if the starter you make from the original yeast shows the yeast to be still alive. As for the kit, if there's no rust inside the can then it should make drinkable beer. I don't recall John Bull making the best bitter even when fresh, so don't expect too much.

 

[Fuzzbald]

Don't be surprised if the starter you make from the original yeast shows the yeast to be still alive. As for the kit, if there's no rust inside the can then it should make drinkable beer. I don't recall John Bull making the best bitter even when fresh, so don't expect too much.

My expectations are spectacularly low, to be honest. I’ll be chuffed if I even get something drinkable! I remember many years ago making John Bull kits and remember them as a rather thin, below average, sweetish bitter.

 

[Fuzzbald]

There is some life in the yeast! I made a very rudimentary starter with some sugary water today and put the yeast in and within a couple of hours there are at least a few bubbles and some activity! The plan is to brew on Wednesday and see where we go...

 

[An Ankoù]

There is some life in the yeast! I made a very rudimentary starter with some sugary water today and put the yeast in and within a couple of hours there are at least a few bubbles and some activity! The plan is to brew on Wednesday and see where we go...

Try and get some malt extract, a bit of your kit boiled up and diluted, perhaps, into that yeast starter. Some yeasts don't like to go back to fermenting maltose after a diet of sucrose.

 

[Fuzzbald]

Try and get some malt extract, a bit of your kit boiled up and diluted, perhaps, into that yeast starter. Some yeasts don't like to go back to fermenting maltose after a diet of sucrose.

That’s pretty much my plan in a nutshell. I didn’t want to waste any extract on “dead” yeast, so looking to see some life in it first.

 

[An Ankoù]

That’s pretty much my plan in a nutshell. I didn’t want to waste any extract on “dead” yeast, so looking to see some life in it first.

Good thinking, but, in fact, it wouldn't be a waste. If it had been dead, you could have just brought it to the boil and chucked it in with the bulk of the wort. Dead yeast makes a fine nutrient.

 

[johncrobinson]

Half starved
I once ate a tin of salmon over TEN YEARS past its sell by date..!!!!

I was expecting trouble if you know what i mean

But no it was fine.