I am a new brewer. Just bottled my first batch last night. Caribou Slobber in the primary (brewed March 3rd). Irish Red Ale kitnbrewed, in the fridge for about 2 weeks now.
With the 15% discount on kits, I’m thinking of buying 2 more, maybe 3. I will probably brew about once every three weeks. So, the kits will be hanging around for a while.
Is it okay to keep the kits in the fridge at home for a few months?
Thinking of making something big, like the Black IPA.
Thanks in advance for the replies.
Extract or all grain? If all-grain, crushed or not?
Extract I think would have quite the shelf life, you might want to wait on the yeast until you brew it though.
Brans - Thanks for the reply. Extract kit. Specialty grains crushed.
Specialty grains are normally packed in air tight containers, so you should be fine for quite a while without some terrible affects.
Specialty grains I’ve received have been in ziplock bags. Is there spoilage or something if they’re exposed to air? I’m pretty new to this and have the same question as the original poster.
Have Denny’s Rye IPA just brewed last Sunday so it’ll be awhile til it’s finished and I have space to brew something else. What’s the shelf life for an extract kit with specialty grains? They must sit at NB for quite awhile before they get ordered right?
Once the cracked grains are exposed to air, they can diminish in flavor over time. At least that is what I have read. I am sure that they will still keep for quite a while. I have a brown ale AG kit that I bought in January. I think it will still be fine.
You shouldn’t worry keeping for a while, just keep in cool dry area. I probably would shelve it for a couple years or anything though.
i’ve kept kit (crushed) grains in the freezer for months (up to 6) with no effect on the final brew. LME/DME will probably last for years in a kitchen cabinet.
cheers.
I had a kit stay in my basement (about 65-70F all summer) for 3-4 months and it was fine. Was NB’s Sierra Madre Pale Ale. Taste good!
I do keep my dry yeast in the fridge, and will only order liquid if I plan on brewing right away (within a week or two). Dry yeast kept in fridge should be good for quite some time! Extract should last a while at cool temps. Might diminish the flavor a little, but if your using specialty grains with it, that might keep it tasting fresh. I think I would store the crushed grains in the freezer, maybe inside another freezer bag to create an extra barrier against O2…
Keeping crushed grains around for very long is not optimal. Why is it necessary to buy so many kits to then have them sit around?
If you order the yeast with your kits, make sure to remove the yeast and place in the fridge as soon as possible.
Put the specialty grains in a freezer bag, then wrap with aluminum foil and freeze - they’ll keep for many months like this with no negative impact.
Thanks for the input folk.
i always get the weast smack pack with my kits, put in the frige rite away. leave the kits in the box in 65-70 deg. one time after a couple months the yeast took a couple days to puff up. other ther that i have had no problem leaving them around for a month or two.
