Old Ingredients

[macmetalworks]

My brother-in-law gave me some four year old ingredients from his basement that he never used. I figured I'd brew them and if it sucked then I'd throw it out. I've had a coffee oatmeal stout in the primary for a week and a half and am about to bottle.

Boiled for one hour, pitched with propogated trappist ale yeast. Smells great from airlock.

Questions:
1. Am I going to contract botulism and die?
2. If I don't die is the trappist yeast going to make it taste funky?
3. What warning signs should I look for?

[slothrob]

Is this old extract?

1) No, your not going to get botulism, nor die.
2) Yeah, but more fruity than funky. (I'm assuming you used WLP500.)
3) Old extract will tend to be darker than expected and may increase the dreaded extract twang. The other danger is oxidation, which is usually described as a cardboard taste.

Free Beer! Good luck!

[macmetalworks]

Yeah the extract was 4years past prime. It is a generic irish stout recipie and I thought I'd doctor it up a bit by steeping some coffee in it. I'm glad to dear that it is safe. I figured so, and anticipated some off flavors.
I basically thought I had two options: Throw it out right away or try brewing it and then throw it out if it was crap.

He also gave me some ingredients for a red ale. It is dry extract, roasted grains and hops. I'm assuming I'll have to replace the hops and yeast. but any tips on the roasted grains?

Thanks again!
I'll bottle it tonight

[billvelek]

The roasted grains should be okay if they were packaged to keep bugs out; I'd smell them to make sure they haven't picked up any odor from the packaging. I know food grade plastic isn't supposed to impart an odor, but I've noticed it a time or two with other foods that have gotten very old.

As you've noted, the hops should be tossed unless they've been frozen all of this time, and even frozen they will still degrade a bit with time. If the yeast is the dry type, you can always toss it into the boil for any starter you are making; the new yeast will cannabolize the parts from the old yeast.

Cheers.

Bill Velek

[macmetalworks]

Thanks for all the great advice! It is good to hear that these ingredients are salvageable. That is a good tip about the dead dry yeast too.
I'll keep you posted on how the stout comes out. I'm hoping to sample some in a week or so.