Who to blame 3 yr. old kit or me?

Northern Brewer General
1

I had a friend give me a three year old Pliney the E
lder kit. I’ve brew this kit before with great results. I haven’t brewed in a year and brewed this kit and pitched a fresh 05 with three packets. moved to secondary as required. I now have a bitter beer a little heavy in mouthfeel just tolerable to drink. the carbonation took longer then before. My question is , did time doom this kit?

2

Hard to tell really. The beer is too green. Bitterness fades over time so give it that time. Also, don’t judge a beer until it’s carbed up.

3

I would think 3 year old hops would yield less bitterness. I would think the grains would be stale maybe that’s affecting the perceive bitterness. Is it fully conditioned?

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4

Way too little information in your post to determine where the fault lies but starting with a 3 year old kit I would have very low expectaions.

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5

I was thinking grains but since he mentioned kit it’s probably extract. The extract would have more shelf life than grains so that may be worth saving everything else I would get fresh. Yeast, hops, specially grains etc.

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6

I heard on a podcast, Briess will remain very grainy for 2 years AFTER being crushed! I’m not too sure about hops… Some store well and others don’t… Its all a crap shoot… Do have low expectations… If it turns out good, you are a winner!! Sneezles61