You love drinking beer, so much so that for Christmas one of your friends or family bought you a beer making kit. But for one reason or another you just didn’t find the time to brew it. Now your looking at it months or maybe even years later wondering if its still good.
How long will a beer kit last? Beer kits typically have best by dates on them, but they can usually be used 1-2 years past those dates. Depending on the type of beer kit you have the viability could vary. Malt, hops, and yeast all have different expiration dates depending on how they are stored.
They are called best by dates for a reason, past those dates the taste might not be as great. But, that doesn’t mean you still can’t brew and drink it without fear. Plus, with just a few tweaks you can make the most out of that expired kit.
Beer Kit Best By Date
According to Mr Beer their kits can be used 1-2 years past their expiration date. They explain that the color of the malt extract may darken, but it is still perfectly fine. Another issue might be the viability of the yeast. It may have died so will no longer ferment, in this case they suggest buying more yeast.
The way most kit ingredients are usually packed and handled makes it near impossible for them to truly ever go bad, however there is a limit to when you should still use them.
Best by dates are guidelines, it will likely take into account the most perishable ingredient first. So, pay special attention to what ingredients can still used even past that date, also the term best by does not refer to a kits expiration date.
Below are some examples of ingredients a kit will typically include.
- Liquid malt extract or dry malt extract
- Barley or wheat grains.
- Liquid or dry yeast
- Hops
- Other sugars or flavorings
The above ingredients are the perishable ingredients that may come in the kit, there are plenty of equipment pieces that you can use forever that are also included. So don’t toss the kit before grabbing those and don’t toss the ingredients until you read below.
All-Grain Kit Recipes
This is where you might get into the most trouble. Since grains are probably the most perishable item included in the kit. If the grains are vacuumed sealed that’s great, but in a bag with lots of air they might become a bit stale.
You can expect un-crushed grains to last around a year. But, if the grain has already been milled then it will last as little as a month.
This is probably why a lot of kits rely on LME or DME (liquid and dry malt extract) since they have a much longer shelf life.
Malt Extract
Kits that have malt extract, either LME or DME will last much longer. In fact because of the low concentration of water to sugars, it may last just as long as the sugar in your cabinet. Its the moisture that becomes the issue, nobody likes lumpy sugar chunks.
So when it comes to kits that use malt extract the greater fear is likely the yeast viability.
Liquid or Dry Yeast
Dry yeast lasts much longer than liquid yeast, and most kits will have dry yeast included. Dry yeast could last up to a year or longer. The problem is the viability.
Yeast viability is measured in how many cells are living. It may be that many or most of the cells are dead leading to a slow or nonexistent fermentation. You can check how many living cells you have by looking through a microscope. For dry yeast you will need to activate it first.
You might be better off trying to grow some more yeast with a yeast starter from a dry yeast packet before pitching into your beer. At least to make to sure its alive and strong enough to begin fermentation.
Liquid yeast will likely be utterly pointless to try using past 3 months and if I found it in a kit I’m not sure I would try to use it at all, since most kits will likely remain on a shelf for some time.
Check out the article on reusing yeast to learn how you can save money with yeast.
Hops in a Kit
Hops oddly enough are probably the most viable part of a kit. If they are vacuum sealed and kept in a cool location then their shelf life is even longer.
Because hops are anti-microbial they will not spoil, but they will lose potency over time. Fun fact hops were originally used in beer as a natural preservative.
I did an entire article on how to tell if your hops are bad. So check that out to learn more.
Depending on what kind of beer you are brewing hops are usually going to be fine to use. If you have an IPA kit it may be a bit of trouble as it might not be as bitter as you want it to be, since over time hops will lose the alpha acids that lead to bittering during the boil.
The aroma of the hops will also be affected since the alpha acids are where both bittering and aroma come from. Alpha acids naturally degrade as soon as the hop is picked.
Sugar and Flavorings
These will probably last a very long time. So you will probably need to worry about the other ingredients before these go bad. I would not use the sugar if it becomes lumpy or hard.
Flavorings have a long shelf life and are not natural so if you detect the flavor tastes off, its not the age, but the method of production. No extract can take into account the thousands of compounds present in specific flavors.
Buy Beer Kits on Sale to Save Money
Kits are very seasonal, for some strange reason people like to enjoy specific beer styles at certain times of the year. So it might be a great idea to stock up when those styles are not in season.
Many homebrewing sites will often have deals on certain kits. These are most likely going to be off season kits. But don’t fear, with the knowledge you have acquired above you can easily purchase one of these kits in anticipation of the season for this brew.
Just make sure to utilize proper storage techniques in order to keep the ingredients as fresh as possible.
- Keep grains sealed in a dry location
- Keep extract away from heat and moisture
- Keep yeast refrigerated or in a dry room temperature location for dry yeast.
- Keep hops vacuum sealed in a deep freeze.
Some of the kits on sale may even be kits from the previous year.
Homebrew supply stores will likely push a sale just as that beer comes into season to get rid of old supplies and then take down the sale when they have sufficiently sold their old stock.
So make sure you check the best by label to see how old the kit you bought is and don’t by too many that you can’t drink it within the year if its last years kit.
Mixing Beer Kits
Just a few thoughts on a possible side hustle. Not many people think about taking kits apart for their ingredients. Some kits can be bought extremely cheap while on sale and their ingredients salvaged.
Once these ingredients are salvaged you can then make whatever beer you want, it doesn’t have to be what the kit includes.
What we Learned about Expired Kits
Even if your beer kit is expired its not bad. The kits include best by dates and not expiration dates. The quality of the product may be reduced but it is still brewable. And with the tips learned above you can salvage certain ingredients even if part of the kit has gone bad.
Make sure to check out our recommended products page for more information on kits, brewing supplies and equipment. And check back here frequently to get more tips on becoming a better brewer.
Now get out there and brew before that kit gets any older!