Expired brew kits

[petelamb]

I've been clearing out my garage and have come across 7 old brew kits that I completely forgot about, here's what I have:

Woodforde's Nog - Expired 23/11/2017
St Peter's India Pale Ale - Expired 14 Jul 2017
St Peter's Cream Stout - Expired Jan 2016
Woodforde's Headcracker - Expired February 2016
Woodforde's Admiral's Reserve - Expired January 2016
Coopers European lager - Expired 08/08/2015
Coopers Mexican Cerveza - Expired 05/02/2015

Now here's my question - If I replace the yeast for the kits, can I still brew with them?

I'm assuming the yeast that came with the kits will be useless now but I'm also assuming that, as it is canned, the extract for the kits should be fine. Canned goods generally last a lot longer then their best before dates.

If the consensus is that the kits should work fine with new yeast, does anyone have any recommendations of which yeasts to buy for those kits and where I can get them from? I have a local Wilko that has some brewing ingredients, but an online brewshop is probably my best bet.

Thanks.

 

[terrym]

Although I'm sure the can contents will be fine (although perhaps a little darker than intended), you won't really know whether these kits are OK until you have brewed them, but in all cases using fresh yeast. However in case they don't work out I would buy inexpensive yeast and where possible use the some of the trub from one brew for the next. Crossmyloof do good range of inexpensive yeasts (less than £1.50 a packet delivered, less if you bulk buy) including a Kolsch which you could use for the lager and cerveza, and a Real Ale yeast for the rest, although I am not a big fan of the latter since it does not floc very well. In that case the alternative is a Wilko Real Ale yeast.
https://www.crossmyloofbrew.co.uk/yeast-specs.

 

[An Ankoù]

How can you forget about 7 kits? Still, you must lead a much more exciting life than wot I do and I'm dead jealous. As Terrym says, brew them up and hope for the best

 

[MonkeyMick]

I've just bottled a Coopers Lager that I brewed even though the kit went out of date in 2005.

I replaced the yeast with California Common, and dry hopped it with Citra and Liberty.

It's not bad at all.

I'd say replace the yeasts and go for it.

 

[Drunkula]

I've done tons of old kits. They're pretty twangy even if you shortbrew the entire kit to 2 gallons and don't use sugar. But a 40 pint kit, no matter how bad, makes 80 pints of very drinkable shandy.

 

[Clint]

Mix them all together and brew at 17 litres ..nip to Wilko for some yeast.

 

[An Ankoù]

I've never had trouble with out of date dried yeasts, They seem to be more resilient than the kits. For example back in the day when I had to use kits because I lived in a small flat,the received wisdom was to brew up the kit but swap out the yeast because the yeasts were crpa. Not so. I chucked the unlabelled silver sachets in a tupperware and forgot about them. Used one of them a month or so ago and it was fine and made a decent stout.

 

[dwhite60]

I would be more concerned with the kit than the yeast. I pitched a pack last year that was four years old. Still worked.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[Drunkula]

I've never had trouble with out of date dried yeasts

I'm still using packets of S-33 that I've had in the freezer for 2 year from kits that were 2 years out of date and they work well. I've also used the yeast from Winebuddy kits that I didn't freeze and after a couple of years they were completely dead. And we're talking the ludicrous 220g packets of yeast + nutrient. I repurposed it for yeast nutrient and throw it in the boil.

 

[petelamb]

What would be the concern about the kits? As they're canned I thought they'd last long past their best before date.

 

[An Ankoù]

Only that the malt extract tends to lose it's freshness over time and might lead to a "homebrew"twang. The beer still does the business, though. I wouldn't hesitate to use them.

 

[druid1966]

Ive used mine with no problems. I start the yeast early and if it doesn't take, I use a fresh one from the fridge..

 

[johncrobinson]

My cans from a forgotten wine kit,Burned through the tins,then Leaked and ruined my kitchen units.
My slave was not very happy about this,And threatened me with dire consquenses

 

[johncrobinson]

Seriously
Use fresh yeast and provided your tins are not from the Bronze age you should be fine

 

[Rodj]

My slave was not very happy about this,And threatened me with dire consquenses

Pull yourself together!!! Tell your slave to clean the mess, and if there are any more threats you'll set Mrs Robinson onto her.

 

[johncrobinson]

Women take great pride in there kitchens,Homebrew is hard enough as it is without upsetting them

 

[ExpatBrewer]

I brewed a partial mash last year with a 2-year old Coopers can, fresh dry yeast and hop additions. While the beer was a LOT darker than expected it tasted perfectly fine.

 

[DavidDetroit]

How can you forget about 7 kits?

They were behind a secret panel, the one where you have to pull the candle lever to open. Or they could of gotten lost behind a stack of Hippity Hops (not a type of hop).
I wondered that myself. I also wonder when someone forgets about a beer in a fermenter for a year or something like that. I'm always so jazzed about getting batches into bottles, I can't forget about it.
I've forgotten about and left my indoor cat outside overnight so who am I to talk.

 

[druid1966]

I found a 3 gallon carboy I had forgotten about fo about a year ( a trial batch that was blocked from view ) as it was 15 or so % I passed in on to a friend that was able to process it differently. ( I don't think I will get trouble for that)