Big Freegle (freecycle) haul some advice needed

[Jeltz]

Just taken a 40 minute round trip for a big haul from Freegle (same as Freecycle)

1 Pressure Barrel with S30 cap
1 25L Youngs FV
1 heat band
6 demijohns with bungs and airlocks (in need of a good scrub)
1 big brush
1 brand new hambledon bard CO2 cylinder
2 hand corkers
3 bags of corks
A couple of dozen wine bottles
various old chemicals and additives
2 white wine kits
2 beer kits
some tubing and extra bungs

Well the kits and additives are all passed best before dates

The beer & wine kits all before 2010 and there are chems such as bentonite, pectic enzymem, finings, campden tabs, sodium metasulphate and VWM steriliser with dates varying from no date to before 2005-2009.

What is still OK to use? Will the beer kits still be viable or would they be **** now?

Best before is not use by so I guess it shouldn't be dangerous but it might not work so well?

 

[bobsbeer]

I would make the kits and see. They should be fine. Use new yeast. Bin the chemicals, although the bentonite will be fine as it's already millions of years old. Well done. :clap:

 

[Casey76]

I think you need to replace the yeast in the kits, but I believe that for kits, anything which is canned is usually OK... might as well make them up and see what occurs; the only thing you are wasting is a couple of kg of sugar and time.

I would probably bin the chemicals. Pharmaceutical grade chemicals need to be stable for 5 years after their BBE date, but this depends on the conditions they have been kept (cool, dark, damp free environment usually for optimal storage). If the chems are opened, and are like the Youngs pots, definitely bin them, as you don't know what kind of environment they have been kept in.

 

[Jeltz]

Thanks guys.

I have (new) pots of youngs dried yeast and super yeast compound would those be good for the wine kits?

The beer kits are Coopers Bitter and Coopers Dark any recommendation of what yeast to try with them?

 

[Ken L]

Personally, I'd put the kit yeast in a starter bottle. If it goes, use it, if it is dead (The only dead yeast I ever has was a Lavin pack), look for an alternative.

The beauty of the starter bottle is you know you have live yeast before you open the can.