How would you clean this?

[dmbRedGetta]

So I got a free kit today but it's been sitting in a garage for a few years and is covered with bugs and dust. I was thinking about soaking it in some hot soapy water to clean it, but I didn't know if I should also soak it in a diluted bleach solution or not.

Also, inside the kit was a 6 lb bag of Northwestern Gold liquid malt. I have no idea how old this stuff is... would it be worth using or should I just trash it?

Pretty nice trade for a 6-pack!

 

[EdWort]

An overnight soak in hot water and PBW should do the job.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Never used old ingredients, but I have read of people supplementing w/ fresh grains and fresh hops and making palatable beer. Taste it and make a desision. Maybe a brown ale to mask any off flavors?? Use it for starters??

 

[wyzazz]

I'd soak the equipment in your favorite cleaner (I use Oxiclean) and give it a good rinse, as for the LME/kit I'd probably ditch the grains and use it in something like a porter, stout or even a barleywine.

 

[iparks81]

yeah, like above posts, soak it in OxiClean..good to go IMO Id thro out any old ingredients.
what a score for a 6-pack!

 

[wh4tig0t]

+1 for a good soak in oxyclean. I'd either throw out the malt, or just make a basic beer with it and learn what old extract taste like.

 

[pfooti]

yeah, either oxiclean (the "free" kind, no perfumes or flavors) or PBW. Should be fine. Nice score.

 

[wyzazz]

Old Ale? Might be interesting.

 

[dmbRedGetta]

Thanks for the replies! I'll have to run out and pick up some OxyClean (are we the only household that doesn't have any??). I was worried about soaking everything in soap for fear that the flavor might penetrate the plastic, but I want to make sure I clean everything really well since I'm not sure what it's been exposed to and that kinda weirds me out.

As for the malt, I'm going to hang onto it just in case I start making starters, but I'm not sure I'll put it in a beer yet. I don't get to brew often, so I want to make sure I use quality ingredients for now. Hopefully soon I'll be overrun with enough good beer that I can really start experimenting

 

[Catt22]

The extract should be OK to use for starters, but probably not usable in the beer and not worth taking a chance on. Since the equipment has never been used, I would think that normal cleaning and sanitizing procedures would suffice.