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Old extract

dinabashirian

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A friend of mine was in the hobby years ago and gave it up . I just purchased a number of items to learn to brew. He had some cans of extract with a date of 2002 and was wondering if I can use it to try and brew a batch and see if it comes out ok before I start to use fresh ingredients
 
A friend of mine was in the hobby years ago and gave it up . I just purchased a number of items to learn to brew. He had some cans of extract with a date of 2002 and was wondering if I can use it to try and brew a batch and see if it comes out ok before I start to use fresh ingredients
No, it'll be extremely oxidized, and give you an undrinkable beer. Extract must be as fresh as possible. But then you can get great beer.

My first couple of brews were with extract which was not quite fresh. Those beers were not good - but I guess I drank most of them anyhow:).
 
I wouldn't recommend it, but it never hurts to give it a shot! You'll still make beer, and a practice run won't hurt. Will it be delicious? Probably not. will it be beer? yup!
 
Yeah, Nope. Even as loose as I brew I don't think I would use LME that old. (I assume it's LME, you said cans). It would suck for you end up with a bad, undrinkable first batch just because of stale ingredients. Start off with a fresh kit and get your feet wet with one of those.
Maybe you could make a small batch, say 1 gallon or so and then you'll know what stale/outdated LME tastes like. (LOL)
Cheers. 🍻
Joel B.
 
Sure, you could brew with it. But making a bad batch might put you off the hobby. Not to mention the waste of time and other ingredients.
Start out with fresh ingredients and make good beer. Pour that 20-year-old extract in your compost bin.
 
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