Freeze liquid extract

[jonp9576]

I just got a 33 lb jug of lme from my Lhbs. I poured it out into 1 2 and 3 lb freezer bags. I pushed ot all the air and stuck them in the freezer. This was yesterday. Today they are still not hard. I lowered the temp. How long does it take lme to freeze?


I know some people say not to freeze it but others have said it works well. Thoughts?

 

[david_42]

Due to the high sugar content, you might need to lower the temperature to 0F or less. On the other hand, once it is down around 15F, further cooling won't matter much.

 

[doctorRobert]

i wouldnt worry about it freezing or not. once its that cold whats really gonna happen to it?

 

[jonp9576]

Cool. So i can turn the fezer back to the normal setting. Another question. Hw long can it be frozen?

 

[doctorRobert]

Cool. So i can turn the fezer back to the normal setting. Another question. Hw long can it be frozen?

I don't think anything would. That's what I would do. It'll keep a long time. It may slowly degrade in quality but id imagine it'll make decent beer. I've never done this maybe you should wait until someone else chimes in who has done it.

 

[KevinM]

Wouldn't the cold slow degredation compared to a room temperature situation? There seems to be things about honey's age being temperature dependant in its storage so I would expect something slightly similar due to the low water content. (I'm considering something similar, just not sure about having enough freezer space to boot). It's definately cheaper to get the 33lb compared to per pound.

 

[jonp9576]

The lme at my Lhbs is roughly $4 per lb. Getting 33 lbs made it about $2 per lb

 

[bpgreen]

LME is dense enough that it takes a lot to affect it.

I buy LME in bulk and transfer it to smaller containers. It stays good at room temperature for 3-6 months (largely dependent on how long it was sitting in the barrel at the LHBS). You can double that time frame in the fridge. Freezing is almost indefinite.

Mold can form at the surface. It doesn't mean the LME is bad. You can scrape of the mold and use the LME. Technically, the mold won't hurt and you can add it to the boil, but I'm not sure it would improve the taste.

You can pour a thin layer of vodka on top to prevent the mold (other spirits work, bot vodka is cheap and less likely to alter the flavor).

I've stored LME in a covered plastic container at room temperatures for more than 6 months and have seen no mold, but humidity is low here.

 

[KevinM]

Good to know. My store started carrying the sorghum syrup I need with the same cost per pound for a 7 pound vs a 33 pound (Online source)so I'll wait on it. Once I have enough 7 pound containers, then I'll see about the cost of a 60 pound Sorghum bucket from another store.

 

[bpgreen]

Good to know. My store started carrying the sorghum syrup I need with the same cost per pound for a 7 pound vs a 33 pound (Online source)so I'll wait on it. Once I have enough 7 pound containers, then I'll see about the cost of a 60 pound Sorghum bucket from another store.

You can get 2 qt rubbermaid containers for a couple of dollars at Wal Mart. One of these holds about 6 lbs of LME. I would guess that the sorghum syrup would be about the same.

 

[jonp9576]

So, since I bought this extract I sold my kegerator, stopped brewing, have been super busy remodeling my house and and am now just getting back to brewing.

Its been in the freezer for two years. Is it going to kill me?

 

[bpgreen]

So, since I bought this extract I sold my kegerator, stopped brewing, have been super busy remodeling my house and and am now just getting back to brewing.

Its been in the freezer for two years. Is it going to kill me?

It's fine.

LME is so dense that it doesn't really spoil per se, even at room temperature. At room temperature, it will darken and the taste will change somewhat. And if you live in a humid area, it can develop mold at the surface (I live in the desert, so this is not a concern for me). But even the mold won't ruin it. You can just scrape the mold off and brew. Theoretically, you don't even need to scrape the mold off, but the idea of leaving it there doesn't appeal to me.