How long do FWKs last?

[mynameisrodney]

Hi all,

I mostly brew all grain, but a bit under a year ago I bought a FWK on a whim, then put it in the garage and kept forgetting about it.

Will it still be safe to use? Or should I just chuck it out?

Cheers,
Chris

 

[Cloud Surfer]

Does it have a use by date there somewhere?

 

[mynameisrodney]

No just a manufacture date

 

[Nullnvoid]

If it has been stored cool it will be fine.

 

[Hangover68]

Chuck it in the FV and see how it goes.

 

[philrob]

If it hasn't swollen, you'd think it'll be OK. If it smells OK, I don't see a problem.

 

[mynameisrodney]

OK cheers guys, I'll give it a crack.

 

[JDW81]

The longest I’ve had a cube sit for was 18 months. It sat in the garage through a Melbourne summer. It was excellent when I finally fermented it. Others have had cubes sit for longer.

If the cube isn’t swollen, if it smells OK and tastes OK (i.e. like sweet, bitter wort) then go for it!

 

[Nullnvoid]

Yeah, I have had a cube sit for 3 years and it was fine. These days my drinking has increased a fraction so they get turned over quickly, but when my daughter was born I had quite the stash of cubes.

I have a cube at the moment that's 5 years old. I am not sure if it is still alright, I just haven't felt like that style yet so it never gets fermented. But I should!

I'll let every know how it goes!

 

[KegLand-com-au]

I know grain and grape have done these trials and I was told by them that they kept fresh wort kit for 2 years and it had no noticeable impact to flavour. I would have thought that some aroma would have been lost but they did not say this. I guess if you really want hop aroma it's still a good idea to dry hop anyway.

Also, would you guys be interested in us supplying bladders to use for fresh wort. The cubes are good but they are not always the right size and they are expensive to ship as they are so bulky. We can get the bladders made up suitable for hot filling and a 20L bladder would be about $2-3. This includes the cost of us getting the bladders irradiated. So you would get a bladder that is absolutely sterile when you fill. I think we could probably sell these as a pack of 10 bladders for under $2 each with screw cap. This would also be cheap enough that you could give a bladder of fresh wort to a friend and not worry about getting the cube back from them. Would be keen to get some feedback from you guys to see if this is a good idea or not.

 

[Nullnvoid]

I know grain and grape have done these trials and I was told by them that they kept fresh wort kit for 2 years and it had no noticeable impact to flavour. I would have thought that some aroma would have been lost but they did not say this. I guess if you really want hop aroma it's still a good idea to dry hop anyway.

Also, would you guys be interested in us supplying bladders to use for fresh wort. The cubes are good but they are not always the right size and they are expensive to ship as they are so bulky. We can get the bladders made up suitable for hot filling and a 20L bladder would be about $2-3. This includes the cost of us getting the bladders irradiated. So you would get a bladder that is absolutely sterile when you fill. I think we could probably sell these as a pack of 10 bladders for under $2 each with screw cap. This would also be cheap enough that you could give a bladder of fresh wort to a friend and not worry about getting the cube back from them. Would be keen to get some feedback from you guys to see if this is a good idea or not.

I will certainly like to give these a go! Would the bladders be reusable?

If you need someone to test these I am your man!

 

[DU99]

All inn brewing has 12 month date on theirs and uses bladders

 

[YAPN]

suitable for hot filling

Are they rated for 100C or would some cooling be necessary?

 

[KegLand-com-au]

Are they rated for 100C or would some cooling be necessary?

The bags are rated to 100C so you can hot fill right out of the kettle.

 

[KegLand-com-au]

I will certainly like to give these a go! Would the bladders be reusable?

If you need someone to test these I am your man!

The bladders are re-usable but more difficult to clean than a traditional cube. One thing that you would be able to do if you had any doubts if the bag was clean or not is squeeze all the air out and boil the sealed bladder between uses. At this price I would imagine some customers might just throw them after one use though too. They just seal using a screw cap so they are a bit different to the standard wine cask.

 

[Nullnvoid]

The bladders are re-usable but more difficult to clean than a traditional cube. One thing that you would be able to do if you had any doubts if the bag was clean or not is squeeze all the air out and boil the sealed bladder between uses. At this price I would imagine some customers might just throw them after one use though too. They just seal using a screw cap so they are a bit different to the standard wine cask.

Interesting. Would definitely be keen to give them a go. I have 12 fulls cubes and just about run out.

I like to build up stock of different styles in case I cannot brew because of family commitments.

 

[mynameisrodney]

Thanks for all the extra feedback guys. It wasn't a hoppy beer, so if the hops fading is the biggest concern it should be fine. I'll report back in a few weeks.

 

[yankinoz]

I know grain and grape have done these trials and I was told by them that they kept fresh wort kit for 2 years and it had no noticeable impact to flavour. I would have thought that some aroma would have been lost but they did not say this. I guess if you really want hop aroma it's still a good idea to dry hop anyway.

Although Grain and Grape keeps their worts on the shelves, was that true of their test wort, or was it refrigerated?

 

[KegLand-com-au]

Although Grain and Grape keeps their worts on the shelves, was that true of their test wort, or was it refrigerated?

I was given the impression that this test word was just stored in their warehouse. It was more than 2 years ago when I was told this so hopefully one of the Grain and Grape staff can comment, remember and clarify how the test was conducted. I got the feeling that it was wort that they had forgotten about and was just sitting in a corner of the warehouse.

 

[KegLand-com-au]

I will certainly like to give these a go! Would the bladders be reusable?

If you need someone to test these I am your man!

No worries at all. Well seeing as we have some interest and we got some private message about this product we have ordered these and they are going to take a few weeks to get made up for us. The bladder suppliers do not normally make this screw cap so we had to order a couple thousand just so they would make them especially for us with this closure type. They will looks like this:

https://www.kegland.com.au/20l-hot-fill-wine-wort-cask-bladder-hot-cube-alternative-irradiated.html
As you can see they only cost $1.60 each if you purchase a box of 10. The freight will be a lot cheaper than sending empty 20L cubes around the country.

I am a bit embarrassed to say this but I think the days of me washing out cubes is probably over. As much as I like the idea of reduce/reuse/recycle to minimise the impact on the environment I think a small amount of plastic film used to make 20L of beer might just be the compromise I have to make.

If you specifically wanted to test these out and get back to us with some feedback then PM me and we can organise some free ones for you when they come into stock.