Out of date kit

[AndrewVu]

I bought some demijohns on eBay and when I went to collect it the seller gave me a two can beer kit too. I have the equipment to make the beer and it's currently unused so I thought I'd give it a go. My trouble is that I think the kit is considerably out of date.

It's a Sherwood Ale "Best Bitter" two can kit. The best before year ends in a 0 and that is all that is legible because the label has worn away completely. It will almost certainly have gone off in 2000 or 2010. I'm going to throw the yeast out as I have plenty I can replace it with and I'm sure the canned contents (wort?) will be fine. My question is, what about the hop pellets? I've never used hop pellets before and I don't know how fast they are likely to go off. They're packed in a foil sachet, will they be ok or should I buy some pellets elsewhere? If I need to get pellets elsewhere, what should I look for?

Thanks a lot!

 

[RobWalker]

I would buy other pellets, my leaf hops degrade like hell. Hop extract should be fine though I reakon, it's the essence itself...which do you have?

 

[artiums_enteri]

Out dated ingredients can lead to some serious problems. The first thing I'd be concerned with is how old are these hops and how have they been stored? If they have been subject to light or not frozen then they can be skunky, cheesy, a depleted alpha acid, and stale. The second concern is the extract. Old extract can create raisin flavors in the beer.

I have no experience with old extract, for when I was brewing with extract it was always very fresh and put into bags directly from the brand new barrel at more beer. Old hops is something I've dealt with, and it's not pleasant unless you are making a lambic or Belgian strong ale with lacto, pedio, or Brett where the stale hops add to the character of the beer.