Old Tin of Thomas Coopers Premium Selection Australian Bitter

[JimInCollie]

Hi Girls and Boys

I've just found a tin of Thomas Coopers Premium Selection Australian Bitter in the back of a garden shed.  On the bottom is printed: "Best Before 14/03/10"; so it's 12 years past its best before date.

I guess i should throw it out but it is a BEST BEFORE date and not a USE BY date so I thought I would ask you guys first.  Malt, like honey, probably doesn't go off, but the subtle nuances of flavour from hops, esters, and so on might have been destroyed. Another thing that is of minor concern is that the can is bulging slightly at each end - only slightly and I'm not sure how abnormal this is.

Of course, the yeast is also 12 years old, but I do have a selection of recently purchased yeasts.

So, what do you think? Chuck it out? - OR - Give it a go?

Cheers, Jim

[kmar92]

The yeast would definitely be gone. I would also reckon that the tin would also be beyond use, especially if it has bulges in the ends. The garden shed probably gets pretty hot I would imagine?

[Stickers]

if it were me i'd brew it as an experiment, whether i drank it or not would depend on how it turned out.

[Pints]

Give it a brew and send pictures

[iBooz2]

30 minutes ago, PintsAtMeLocal said:

Give it a brew and send pictures

No don't @JimInCollie , as by now the low PH of the extract would have reacted with the internal plastic layer and on the tin itself.  Not worth the risk and time and trouble IMO.  Toss the old tin and buy a fresh tin and enjoy that one instead.

Edited March 17, 2022 by iBooz2

[Tone boy]

If it were me, I would take it out in the back yard and chop it open with the block splitter (I know, because that’s what I did when I found an old can with bulging ends). 
If I were you, I’d brew it and send photos and tasting notes to us all here

[Classic Brewing Co]

I would chuck it, come on, it's 2022, don't waste your time. 

[terminal2k]

44 minutes ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

don't waste your time

I mean it's his time

[Greenyinthewestofsydney]

Use it for yeast starters I reckon. Could make probably 4 x 4L lager starters out of that baby

[Tricky Micky]

13 hours ago, JimInCollie said:

Hi Girls and Boys

I've just found a tin of Thomas Coopers Premium Selection Australian Bitter in the back of a garden shed.  On the bottom is printed: "Best Before 14/03/10"; so it's 12 years past its best before date.

I guess i should throw it out but it is a BEST BEFORE date and not a USE BY date so I thought I would ask you guys first.  Malt, like honey, probably doesn't go off, but the subtle nuances of flavour from hops, esters, and so on might have been destroyed. Another thing that is of minor concern is that the can is bulging slightly at each end - only slightly and I'm not sure how abnormal this is.

Of course, the yeast is also 12 years old, but I do have a selection of recently purchased yeasts.

So, what do you think? Chuck it out? - OR - Give it a go?

Cheers, Jim

My personal analogy here is if it were a tin of tuna for example, or even diced tomatoes in their juice, would you be okay with opening them up and eating these? I get that it may be alright - but it might not be as well. Just my opinion.

[Classic Brewing Co]

25 minutes ago, Mickep said:

My personal analogy here is if it were a tin of tuna for example, or even diced tomatoes in their juice, would you be okay with opening them up and eating these? I get that it may be alright - but it might not be as well. Just my opinion.

I totally agree Mick there is no point, I have been through this myself over the years, I found a couple of tins in a box that I had forgotten about, they were 4-5 years old, I had a peep at one of them & didn't like the look of it, it had thinned considerately so I chucked both of them. The other thing is they could make you crook.

Edited March 17, 2022 by Classic Brewing Co

[Oldbloke]

On 3/17/2022 at 8:30 PM, Stickers said:

if it were me i'd brew it as an experiment, whether i drank it or not would depend on how it turned out.

Yep, I would just open can and if it looks and tastes OK brew it but instead of adding DME I would just do about 15-18liters. 

[JimInCollie]

Thanks for all the replies. There are many differing opinions as to what I should do with it, about 50% in favour of throwing it out and about the same suggesting other things.

For the reasons some of you have stated, and my own reservations about the bulging can, I would not be happy drinking the beer, even if it looked OK and was passable in flavour. Also, I am a bit time limited so to go to the trouble of brewing something I most likely won't drink, and would not risk giving to my friends to drink, I think I will just throw it out. After all, I can buy something I like, in pristine condition, for around $20.

Thanks again,  Jim.

 

[Classic Brewing Co]

1 minute ago, JimInCollie said:

Thanks for all the replies. There are many differing opinions as to what I should do with it, about 50% in favour of throwing it out and about the same suggesting other things.

For the reasons some of you have stated, and my own reservations about the bulging can, I would not be happy drinking the beer, even if it looked OK and was passable in flavour. Also, I am a bit time limited so to go to the trouble of brewing something I most likely won't drink, and would not risk giving to my friends to drink, I think I will just throw it out. After all, I can buy something I like, in pristine condition, for around $20.

Thanks again,  Jim.

 

Good choice mate, your health is more important & others.

[JimInCollie]

1 minute ago, Classic Brewing Co said:

Good choice mate, your health is more important & others.

Thumbs up to that - it's in the bin, gone!