Old Homebrew Ingredients

[Anni]

I was cleaning out a cupboard in the basement and came across a sealed box of beermaking ingredients. -- estimated eight years old! (Yep, hubby was "getting around" to making that beer ) I've tossed about half the contents already, but was wondering if either of the following are still ok: hops in vacuum-sealed bags and a container of light malt extract. I'm thinking "garbage" -- yes?

[Jim]

Throw the stuff out. Homebrew ingredients are better fresher, much better. Hops are generally kept in oxygen barrier bags in a freezer; a homebrew shop I know had their freezer go down over a weekend and threw out all their hops since they couldn't be confident they're ok, i.e., have the bitterness and taste characteristics they should have. Malt extract, similarly, deteriorates over time.