Answers & input appreciated, thanks.

[Jonathan Bailey]

3 brews all started today: all 25 l.
1 x stout from a kit (see pic attached)
1 x wheat beer from a Coopers kit that is 1 year o.o.d.
1 cider from Asda carton apple juice with malic acid & tannin added and fermented with cider yeast.
Kits have been made iaw the instructions: sugar has been used as the fermentable.
Used 500g dark brown sugar in the cider as an additional fermentable.
Question is what can I expect from the Coopers kit given it was over 12 months out of date. I've taken a chance on the original yeast, started it off prior to adding it and it appeared to be feeding and reacting. I've not got much experience, been lucky with using basic kits and not looking to progress much beyond enjoying what I make.

 

[RM-MN]

Question is what can I expect from the Coopers kit given it was over 12 months out of date.

Beer. It's hard to get whisky from a beer kit.

It's pretty likely that you'll get a decent beer from that kit. Dry yeast is pretty hardy stuff.

 

[Kirkwooder]

You will likely get drinkable beer and cider. More than that is hard to say. Those kits don't generally make exceptional beer, but if proper brewing practices were followed and fermentation temps are kept at the very bottom of the yeasts temp range it should turn out fair. The best thing you will get is a little experience.

 

[Jonathan Bailey]

Okay so we're 2 weeks in. The Stout kit turned out fine and the cider has turned out far better than expected but the wheat beer; hmmm.
It chugged along for a few days quite happily bubbling away and then it stopped; I put this down to either the yeast being OOD or a possibly faulty seal around the air lock but I was nevertheless prepared to give it a fair go. Anyway, got to 12 days and I decided enough was enough and if I didn't rack it off soon I was going to end up with vinegar. Added some Quikclear and left it alone and now 24 hrs later it's started bubbling again!! Is it possible that the Quikclear has dropped the dead yeast out and allowed the fresh to restart? Whatever it is, this is by far the most bizarre brew I've ever had. Temps and hygiene have been good so I'm a bit lost on this one.

 

[RM-MN]

Anyway, got to 12 days and I decided enough was enough and if I didn't rack it off soon I was going to end up with vinegar.

To get vinegar you have to allow acetobacter to infect the beer. Time in the fermenter won't do that, you have to open the fermenter to allow oxygen and acetobacter in. I've left beer in the fermenter for over 60 days and it came out very good.

When you say "racking it off' are you talking racking to secondary or just to bottling? Racking to secondary is where most infections occur. It takes very good sanitation practices and minimal headspace to avoid them. Most of us brewers on this forum have learned that beer is better left in the primary until it is ready to bottle.