Adding extract to AG?

[hehawbrew]

I scored some brew equipment off of craigslist last week. The guy had an IPA extract kit in the mix. I have only ever done AG but was wondering if I could add the extract cans to an AG and maybe make some sort of barley wine?

Is that possible? Worth while? Or should I just make the kit?

 

[LBussy]

That would be a partial mash - sure no problem. If it's DME then I would just keep it aside to use if you miss your OG (or for yeast starters). If it's syrup then just build a partial mash around it.

Or, make the kit.

 

[hehawbrew]

It is a liquid malt extract and has a bag DME. Do these kits expire? I've never used DME, but its rock hard!!!

 

[ACbrewer]

I've brewed a kit that was DME and a year old - but still soft. Being rock hard I think indicates that a little humidity got in.

Anyhow the thing to do is taste it for flavor. It might taste stale (like stale crackers or bread). If it is, then that flavor will carry into whatever beer you make. Otherwise, adding them into a AG and making a Partial Mash out of it is a good idea, just make sure you include enough Hops to cover what I'm guessing is about 6LB of malt - or about +.045 to your gravity. If it wasn't a brick, I'd suggest using DME for starters like LBussy said. But given it being a brick, I think tasting and making makes sense.

Oh and some people associate the LME with the 'extract twang'. Some anticdotal evidence (ie one guy testing a few times) suggests that come from old LME.

 

[LBussy]

I don't know if they expire, but extract begins to lose quality after a while. Sounds like this one has been around a bit so ... in order that you don't comprise one of your AG batches, if it were me I'd probably make just the kit and use fresh yeast. If it's crappy you lost nothing but time and the kit that was a "throw-in." If it's okay then you have a beer to drink during your next brew session.

 

[hehawbrew]

It's a northern brewers IPA kit. Guy said it s 6-8 mo the old, but, it was a CL transaction after all......dood also gave me a bag of yeast in a ziplock!!!! Lol.....

Think I will just get some yeast , add some extra hops, and save em for when I'm tipsy enough not to care about what I'm drinking!

 

[unionrdr]

I think discretion is the better part of valor in this instance. Brew it as a kit this time just in case it tastes different from originally intended. In my experiences,it'll taste & look different,but not bad if brewed properly.
Having said that,I have used a cooper's can in a partial mash recipe with hybrid ale/kolsh yeast that came out quite lager-like. A dark hybrid lager to be precise. So they can work well with a partial mash.

 

[hehawbrew]

I agree!