Like the title says. Bought a recipe kit last June that had 6 lbs of pilsner LME that I never used. It’s been stored cold in my fridge the entire time. I know cold storage increases the shelf life of LME, but after six months, what should I do?
What is the package date of the LME? Go for an old ale is what I have seen.
I’ll check that when I get home.
Using it for starters is another option as well. Honestly I’m hoping that with cold storage it will be fine, but I plan on brewing a pilsner-esque beer with it, so any problems will likely come through in the final beer.
in all honesty i have used 6 month old if not older LME without any problems, you might have a slight loss of flavor depending on light exposure but as long as it hasn’t been opened and has been stored properly you should be good to go.
Checked for a date, didn’t see one on the packaging.
It seems very dark, noticeably darker than the (fresh) gold malt syrup I brewed with last weekend. With that note, I’m thinking of relegating it to starter use.
that may be best, i had a gold DME go bad, some how the seal broke and it lumped into one big brick, i tossed it but debated on using it for a starter my self.
Use the old malt to make a simple beer (hops and maybe one steeping grain). if it isn’t good, you are just out The cost of the hops, a little grain, and the yeast versus throwing away the extract.
This ^^^^^.
I would bet the LME is just fine (though I prefer DME for its storage abilities). But as stated above, make a simple beer and if it comes out good, then lucky you. If it comes out bad, then oh well, its just beer - dump it!
FWIW, I still haven’t used this extract. I plan on making a batch of canned starters, and will use it for that.
The way I see it, why waste hops on this questionable extract when I know I need starters? Though it wouldn’t be a waste of yeast, I’m turning into a chronic repitcher.