Out of date LME

Discussion on brewing beer from malt extract, hops, and yeast.
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spook100
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Out of date LME

Post by spook100 » Fri Mar 09, 2018 4:53 pm

Clearing out my brewing cupboard I came across several litres on light LME that is about two years out of date. It is in a container that has been opened and is half empty but I can't see anything growing on it. Googling suggests that aged LME gives a caramel and melanoidin character to the beer so I thought that I might chuck it in with some speciality grains and make a barleywine rather than throw it away. Don't want to waste my time if it's going to come out rank though! Is it worth it?
A fine beer may be judged with only one sip, but it's better to be thoroughly sure.

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Re: Out of date LME

Post by McMullan » Fri Mar 09, 2018 6:01 pm

LME reminds me of 'soup' of some kind, at the best of times. I'd sling it down the bottom of the garden. On a compost heap maybe?

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HTH1975
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Re: Out of date LME

Post by HTH1975 » Fri Mar 09, 2018 7:10 pm

If it’s been opened and out of date it’s probably fubar.

However, the experimental side of me would brew it up with whatever old hops I have that need using up and some dried yeast. You’re not going to be much out of pocket that way if it turns out crap.

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Re: Out of date LME

Post by Rookie » Thu Mar 22, 2018 7:16 pm

HTH1975 wrote:
Fri Mar 09, 2018 7:10 pm
If it’s been opened and out of date it’s probably fubar.

However, the experimental side of me would brew it up with whatever old hops I have that need using up and some dried yeast. You’re not going to be much out of pocket that way if it turns out crap.
Me too.
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Wonkydonkey
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Re: Out of date LME

Post by Wonkydonkey » Fri Mar 23, 2018 7:08 pm

Bit late replying, but beer is beer when times are hard. Good or bad..I’m not the person throw or chuck just cos of a bbe date.. anyhow, I’d use it in what ever I was brewing as a use it up thing, but I would make sure it gets to a boiling point.. just to kill off any clingers.
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spook100
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Re: Out of date LME

Post by spook100 » Mon Mar 26, 2018 9:21 pm

I mixed up a little of this in half a litre of boiling water and it tasted, smelled and looked like wort so decided to give it a go.

I had 9kg of the stuff so made a 26 litre batch of barley wine with 100g for chocolate malt and a bunch of spare hops that I had in the freezer. Came out at an OG of 1.102 and the wort tasted quite good. Pitched straight on to a full yeast cake from an ESB that has just come out of the fermenter.

It's in the fermenter now and, fingers crossed, I'll have a decent batch of free barleywine in a few months.
A fine beer may be judged with only one sip, but it's better to be thoroughly sure.

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Re: Out of date LME

Post by Rookie » Mon Apr 23, 2018 10:41 pm

The only time I ever used out of date lme was when I was given a can of MrBeer stout extract. It wasn't enough to make a batch so I tossed it into a RIS I was brewing to boost the O G s bit.
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Re: Out of date LME

Post by spook100 » Tue Apr 24, 2018 9:55 am

This took over three weeks to ferment out so have just racked it out of the fermenter. FG is 1.032 and it tastes ok - quite smooth actually. A few months of conditioning in the barrel will should produce something drinkable.
A fine beer may be judged with only one sip, but it's better to be thoroughly sure.

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Re: Out of date LME

Post by spook100 » Thu May 10, 2018 12:55 pm

I had a little sample of this again over the weekend and it is turning into a really nice beer, one of the best I've made. It's *really* smooth and the alcohol flavour is strong but not harsh. It's quite reminiscent of a smooth malt whiskey. The other half say it should be called "whiskey beer," not "barley wine". I know what I'll be using old LME for in future :)
A fine beer may be judged with only one sip, but it's better to be thoroughly sure.

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