The Fate of Old Beer Kits Hangs in the Balance here

[MBMorgan]

OK ... so once in a while, I just can't help asking a stupid question to which I pretty much already know (or think I know) the answer ... but still ... it's gotta be asked:

Today, I was conducting an archeological dig through all the beer brewing paraphernalia that I've accumulated over the (many!) years I've been at it. I just unearthed two unopened Northern Brewer extract kits (I know, but they were gifts ... one for Cream ale and the other for Phat Tyre Amber Ale. In them are a bunch of typical beer kit ingredients like yeast (long dead, I know), malt extract in both liquid and powdered forms, various little packets of hops, carbonation pills, sanitizer, and probably a couple of other things all sealed in their original packaging. I was packing it all up to toss into the garbage and got to wondering if any of the stuff in those kits (they are probably 10 years old ) is still useable.

So here's the stupid question: In the minds of fellow experienced brewers ... are any ingredients likely to be worth salvaging? I'm thinking not ... but it's still two days before garbage day so it's not too late (yet) to save at least a little bit from the dump.

[jfmorris]

Sealed DME (Dry Malt Extract) would still be usable. Any pre-milled grains, liquid malt extract (LME) or hops will be unusable after this long. Unmilled grain in a sealed plastic bag *might* be ok but I would taste it first. Carbonation pills and sanitizer should be fine.

I have a couple hundred pounds of unmilled grain stored in zip lock bags inside sealed buckets in my garage, all with O-rings on the lids, but I doubt any of it goes more than a couple of years before getting used. Right now I've got that much because a friend moved to Spain and literally gave me all the grains you see in the picture below, as he could not take any organic brewing material with him in the move:



So my challenge over the coming year is going to be coming up with recipes to use the two dozen specialty malts up!

[JHB]

I think jfmorris is right. The DME is probably OK, as are the carbonation pills and sanitizer. The rest probably isn't. Organic stuff decays pretty rapidly unless it's carefully preserved, but chemicals and the like are more stable.

[MBMorgan]

Looked again and there’s only a pound of DME. It’s pretty much solid as a rock so it’ll probably get tossed with the perishables.

Thanks, gents …

[jfmorris]

On the sanitizer, if its those little packs they used to put in the kits years ago, and is iodophor or chlorine or something like that, I would probably toss that too, and order some new Starsan if you need more sanitizer. The carbonating pills are just little sugar pills and are only useful if you bottle. I keg, so have never bothered with those.

[MBMorgan]

Yeah ... I've tossed everything but a bunch of bottle caps, some carbonation tablets, and a carboy airlock. The sanitizer I normally depend on is One Step ... so whatever they included in the kits it gone, too. I still prefer to bottle (don't know why) so I did hang on to the carbonation tabs ... although, since I tend to indulge in kreusening, I really can't imagine why.